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Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

Christianity’s explosive growth Iran’s biggest fear

By Joni B. Hanigan, Special to the Message *Name changed for security purposes. TEHRAN, Iran (LBM)—A mix of protestors in Iran’s streets the last few weeks, some demonstrating against America and others condemning Iran’s leaders, has obscured what could be an even greater newsworthy event in recent history than political unrest or military action – the explosive growth of Christianity in the country during the past several years. A YOUTH MOVEMENT The Christian population in Iran is “flourishing” according to *Pastor Sam who has traveled in the country extensively and now works with Iranian immigrants to America. He did not offer a numerical description of the spiritual movement, but various nongovernmental organizations and ministry groups have pegged the size of Christianity as between 500,000 and 1 million adherents, with one estimate as high as 3 million converts, and another as low as 300,000. These competing figures compare to the presence of a mere 500 Christians in the country in 1979 when religious hardliners overthrew the 2,500-year-old monarchy form of government in order to establish an Islamic republic in its place. According to ministry experts, the growth of Christianity among Iranians appears to … [Read more...]

Flattmann urges devotion to Christ at LC Chapel

By LCNews PINEVILLE, (LCNews) -- Louisiana College’s inaugural Spring chapel on Jan. 16 featured Kevin Flattmann, student pastor at Cypress Baptist Church, Benton. In a sermon drawn from Mark 14:3-9 and titled “Sorry, I’m Devoted,” Flattmann challenged the LC family to avoid “cruise control” because “God did not call us to be a chump, but to be a champ.” Flattmann explained that a Christian becomes a champ “when you begin to truly live your life more devoted to God.  You’ll find more victory coming in your life.” He said devotion starts in your heart and radiates through your home, love, sacrifice, worship, and love for the Gospel. “Before I met Jesus my name was Loser, but Jesus Christ wrote his name on my life and made me a winner,” Flattmann said. “And no matter what is going on in your life, there is always victory in Christ, but that begins and ends with devotion to Jesus.” … [Read more...]

Is doubt reasonable?

By David Jeremiah EL CAJON, Calif. (BP) - Something strange happens to the psyche of a nation in difficult times. The downtrodden begin to resent government and wealthy corporations and individuals, seeing them as out of touch with, if not the cause of, their plight. Desperation can lead to a reversal of values so that any who rise up and strike back are cheered and viewed as heroes. Sometimes the rebel-heroes seem justified as in the traditional tale of Robin Hood, but others are simply lawbreakers like Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, who terrorized middle America in the early 1930s. While stories of their kindnesses to their victims made the rounds, such tales only confused the issue: Were they bad or were they good? The ambivalence toward this couple serves as a warning for us: It's important to discern good from bad in the spiritual dimension of life. And nowhere is that more necessary than when we are confronted by spiritual doubt. Modus Operandi Modus operandi is one of those Latin phrases that made its way from the pages of criminal investigation textbooks into our cultural conversation. Literally, it means "way of operating." Criminal investigators study the way a criminal operates to find patterns of … [Read more...]

Seek God to become a champion

By Stewart Holloway What does it take to be a champion? It has been fun to watch LSU football this year. Since I work Sunday, I usually go to bed on Saturdays long before the game is over, but I couldn’t do it this year. It was too much fun to watch the team work as a unit to execute amazing plays, and I loved the sincere passion of Coach O. The man is living his dream. Not many of us get to do that, but he is - and he is making the most of it. I’ve also enjoyed watching our oldest son fall in love with LSU. After making a few games at Tiger Stadium with my mom, he’s hooked. He may even rival Rebecca’s passion in the years to come (but good luck with that). As a leader, I’ve watched this season asking, “What’s the difference?” I’m sure there were a lot of football technicalities at work, but it was the leadership of Coach O that I think made the difference. It is obvious Coach O genuinely loves this state, LSU, his team, his staff, and the fans. While love motivates, it was wisdom that brought the difference. Coach O was wise enough to realize that he didn’t have all the answers, so he recruited the right players, hired the right people, and even brought in others to speak into his team through the year on key points. The … [Read more...]

Tornado kills 3, leaves path of destruction

By Message Staff HAUGHTON, La. (LBM) – Gevan Spinney woke up early Saturday, Jan. 11, to a howling wind from a  powerful storm system making its way through Haughton. A short time later he walked outside to find 60 downed trees across his lawn but miraculously with no damage to his house. Spinney, pastor of First Baptist Church in Haughton, credits God for sparing his life and home. “Once the sun came up I found my wife, Andrea, in the front yard weeping,” Spinney told the Baptist Message. “It became real obvious the Lord had His hand on our house and protected us. We had this overwhelming feeling come over us. Our family was so very grateful for the Lord’s protection.” While Spinney’s home escaped destruction, others in his area were not as fortunate. His house was located along the path of a storm that produced an EF2 tornado, whose winds reached 135 mph and caused widespread damage and three fatalities in the state. The tornado touched down before 1:30 a.m. south of Barksdale Air Force Base in Bossier Parish and ended around 2:05 a.m. five miles north of Arcadia. According to the Bossier Parish Sheriff’s Office, Jerry W. Franks, 79, and Mary Sue Franks, 65, of Haughton died when the tornado destroyed their … [Read more...]

Skills of a church planter: responsiveness to the community

By John Hebert, Louisiana Baptists missions and ministry team leader ALEXANDRIA (LBM) - The Areopagus is just a bare marble outcropping near the Acropolis in modern-day Greece. It is an important tourist attraction because at one time it was the place where major decisions were discussed in the city of Athens – even court sessions were held there, especially murder trials. By the Apostle Paul’s day, it was a place where new ideas were heard by the philosophers of the city. More importantly for our purposes, it was the place where Paul made a speech to city leaders known as the sermon on Mars Hill. In that speech Paul skillfully adapted his message using cues from the culture to more effectively communicate the Gospel, piquing interest by putting the message in terms that made sense to the locals. He was responsive to the community. Serious church planters and leaders should always be responsive to the communities they are trying to reach. He must speak the language of the community -- not just the dialect, but the local narrative or context, especially the prevailing elements of the culture. In Athens the narrative was philosophical in nature, and it’s clearly visible in Paul’s approach recorded in Acts 17:22-23. … [Read more...]

ECON: Sutherland Springs’ Pomeroy to share hope that transcended shooting

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer LAFAYETTE, La. (LBM) -- One week after a shooter gunned down 26 people attending a worship service Nov. 5, 2017, at First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, Pastor Frank Pomeroy, whose daughter, Annabelle, was killed, too, stood before the remaining congregants and other guests and presented a message of hope found in Christ. “We have the freedom to choose, and rather than choose darkness like the young man did that day we choose the light,” Pomeroy said in his message under a tent on the church grounds. Two years later, Pomeroy told the Baptist Message that a day does not pass when he fails to remember that fateful morning. But instead of focusing on the tragedy, which took the life of his 14-yearold daughter (there are five surviving Pomeroy children) and killed close friends in his congregation, Pomeroy stressed how the faith community around the world comforted and strengthened his family, the church and the small Texas town they serve. Prayers of support and donations poured in following the shooting, and the North American Mission Board funded construction, through the Cooperative Program and other gifts, of the church’s new multi-purpose facility. … [Read more...]

First Lafayette to host ECON, Istrouma to hold ‘Who’s Your One’

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer ALEXANDRIA (LBM) -- Pastor Jeff Ginn stood before Istrouma Baptist Church in Baton Rouge in March and challenged every member to pray for and share Christ with one person in 2019. His congregation wholeheartedly responded to and embraced the “Who’s Your One?” evangelistic strategy and, by the end of the year, saw many come to a relationship with Christ, including more than 90 who were baptized, an all-time single-year high for the 100-year-old congregation that averages around 2,000 in Sunday morning worship attendance. Ginn hopes to equip others with resources to carry out the initiative when Istrouma Baptist hosts the Who’s Your One Tour and evangelism training, Jan. 26-27. The training precedes the annual Louisiana Baptist Evangelism Conference (ECON), Jan. 27-28, which will be held at the First Baptist Church in Lafayette. “We are so excited about hosting this event,” Ginn told the Baptist Message. “I know that God will challenge us all to be more intentional in praying for others and sharing the Good News with them. We implemented the ‘Who’s Your One’ strategy at Istrouma and, to my knowledge, we baptized more people in 2019 than in any other year of our … [Read more...]

Beloved pastor’s death saves many lives

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer TERRYTOWN (LBM) – A sense of anxiety overcame Pastor Dennis Watson as he stepped into the Jefferson Parish Correctional Center on June 19, 2019, to offer words of forgiveness to Todd Williams, who three days earlier had driven his vehicle into an embankment of the Westbank Expressway and subsequently caused the death of Claude Williams, a beloved pastor of the Celebration Church Westbank campus. The two Williamses are not related. Miraculously, Todd Williams received forgiveness during the meeting with Watson, lead pastor of Celebration Church with 10 campuses in the New Orleans area and the Northshore, on behalf of the congregation and Claude Williams’s wife, Twila; and, he also gave his life to Christ. “He wept as I prayed for him and then told me that he needed God in his life,” Watson told the Baptist Message. “That’s when I led him to pray for salvation. “In the months that followed, I kept up with what was happening with Todd Williams in prison, and visited with him again,” he continued. “He shared with me that he feels as though his life has really changed, and now he’s telling others in prison about how the Lord can forgive people and free them from their struggles … [Read more...]

First West reaches lost, eradicates $3.5 million of medical debt

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer WEST MONROE (LBM) —The First Baptist Church in West Monroe witnessed more than 90 people make some type of decision for Christ during its 2019 Christmas show, and also raised enough revenue from ticket sales and donations to pay off $3.5 million in medical bills for hundreds of residents in Ouachita Parish. The congregation’s annual Northeast Louisiana Christmas Celebration consisted of three 90-minute performances attended by 4,500 people from Dec. 20-22. “This was a great opportunity to show the community we care about them,” Michael Wood, pastor of First West, told the Baptist Message. “The people who will have their medical debt taken care of will experience the blessing of not having bondage to debt. But more importantly, they will see that they also can have freedom from their sins through a relationship with Christ.” Church members will follow-up on each decision made during the performances -- preparing new converts for baptism and connecting everyone who made any decision with discipleship classes to further their spiritual growth. “This is greater than one weekend,” Worship Pastor Brad Jett said. “It will benefit our area for years to come. What’s validating is … [Read more...]