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Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

The Centurion’s ministry: Biblical guidance for law enforcement

By Joe C. Guthrie Law enforcement officers have been referred to as the Thin Blue Line, as they are our primary line of defense against anarchy and lawlessness. As a result of current apostate philosophies, law enforcement seems to be under attack by all segments of society. The three branches of government are outlined in Old Testament scripture. For the LORD is our judge, the LORD is our lawgiver, the LORD is our king; he will save us. Isaiah 33:22 Law enforcement is the functional arm of the executive branch of government. Scripture plainly outlines the purpose and responsibilities of our law enforcement agencies. Romans 13 provides for the God mandated need for Godly oriented civil governments and purpose of law enforcement officers. Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinances of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilth thou then not be afraid of the power? Do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that … [Read more...]

When heaven touched Earth: except Louisiana

By Randy Willis I got the idea for my headline from Dr. Roy Fish's wonderful book When Heaven Touched Earth: The Awakening of 1858 and Its Effects on Baptists.  Dr. Fish and I were both members of the Board of Trustees of the Joseph Willis Institute for Great Awakening Studies.  He was in declining health and was never able to attend a meeting. I only met him once and that was while he was having breakfast in the same hotel I was staying.  Dr. Rod Masteller introduced us.  Not long before his death I contacted him concerning how I could obtain a copy of his book. A few years ago someone asked me,  "Why did the 1858 revival skip Louisiana?" This was my answer.... In 1857, sixty years after my 4th great-grandfather Joseph Willis first preached Jesus, in the Louisiana Territory, and just three years after his death, materialism pervaded America.  The fact that the young were growing up without God, caused many Christians to begin to pray that God would break the love of money over people's lives and send another revival to the nation.  "Concerts of Prayer" began to spring up throughout the United States and Canada.  Materialism was broken in many lives by the Bank Panic of October 1857. Due to the long, hard winter of 1856-1857, … [Read more...]

Reviving a Dying Church

By Randy Adams, Executive Director of Northwest Baptist Convention Thirty years ago this April I began my first pastorate. It was a dying church – dead really. Today we would call it a “legacy church plant.” There were ten people who attended our first Sunday, all but one retired, with the one being a teenage boy. I’m not sure why the boy was there, except that he lived on the other side of the cemetery. The cemetery, church, and a small school building, long since closed, bordered each other. The Thurmond family gave the property for these three entities in the 1890s, each deemed important for a community in those days. My wife and I served that church for 3 ½ formative years, formative for us and for that church and community. I soon learned that the former pastor recommended that the church disband and give the building to the local Baptist association. He had reasoned this was their best option since they hadn’t baptized anyone in four years, only had a Sunday morning worship service with few attenders, and little prospect of seeing things turn around. The few attenders, most of whom had lived there all their lives, considered his suggestion, but decided to give it “one more try,” which meant giving one more seminary … [Read more...]

Louisiana College students challenged to live on mission this summer during commissioning service

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer PINEVILLE – Even before she graduates, Louisiana College student Rachel Britt knows her calling in life – to one day open a safe house for human trafficking survivors. This summer, Britt will have the opportunity to put her dream into practice when she serves as an intern at the Hope House in Baton Rouge. While there, she will work with survivors of human trafficking through a variety of programs intended to give them hope found in Christ. “I actually want to open a safe house for minors who have survived human trafficking,” said Britt, a member of First Baptist Church in Zachary. “I’m really excited to have this opportunity.” Britt is among 12 LC students who will serve as summer missionaries in several locations such as Baton Rouge, North Carolina, New Mexico, Kentucky, Tennessee, Africa and South America. They were recognized during a special commissioning service at LC earlier today. The service included music, a commissioning charge, medallion presentations to the student missionaries and a message by Eric Hankins, pastor of First Baptist Church in Oxford, Miss., and son of Louisiana Baptist Convention Executive Director David Hankins. Citing Luke 10:1-16, Hankins challenged the … [Read more...]

Atheists muscle in on ‘Jesus Lunch’ at public park

By Gregory Tomlin, Christian Examiner MIDDLETON, Wisc. (Christian Examiner) – Protestors descended on a student- and parent-led lunchtime Bible discussion in a public park next to a Wisconsin high school Tuesday in an effort to stop the assembly. For the first time since the event adjacent to Middleton High School began in Fireman's Park in 2014, the "Jesus Lunch" was met with calls for "separation of church and state" and shouts of protest about white Christians being divisive at the school. Those students who protested, the Wisconsin State Journal claimed, were supported by the atheist Freedom from Religion Foundaiton (though the paper referred to FFRF as "secular"). To read the rest of the article, click here. … [Read more...]

FRAUD? Video doesn’t match gay pastor’s Whole Foods ‘fag’ slur story

By Gregory Tomlin, Christian Examiner AUSTIN (Christian Examiner) – Video cameras are everywhere, including over the checkout line of an Austin, Texas, Whole Foods Market. That's particularly bad news for an openly-gay pastor who claimed in a video April 14 that he purchased a personalized cake at the store only to find that it had been inscribed with an anti-gay slur. Jordan Brown, who leads the "affirming" congregation known as Church of Open Doors, said he discovered the phrase "Love Wins Fag" on the cake only after he left the store. In his original video, he claimed the cake was in its sealed container with an intact label over the lower lip of the box. To read the rest of the article, click here. … [Read more...]

Target says women’s bathrooms, dressing rooms open for men, too

By Leonardo Blair, Christian Post MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (Christian Post) — Minnesota-based retail giant Target announced Tuesday that transgender people are free to use the bathrooms and fitting rooms in their stores that match the gender they identify with, not their sex. "We believe that everyone — every team member, every guest, and every community — deserves to be protected from discrimination, and treated equally. Consistent with this belief, Target supports the federal Equality Act, which provides protections to LGBT individuals, and opposes action that enables discrimination," Target argued in a statement posted on the company's corporate website. "In our stores, we demonstrate our commitment to an inclusive experience in many ways. Most relevant for the conversations currently underway, we welcome transgender team members and guests to use the restroom or fitting room facility that corresponds with their gender identity," the company added. To read the rest of the article, click here. … [Read more...]

Former member of Obama’s advisory council files lawsuit against State of Georgia for firing him over sermons

By First Liberty Institute communications ATLANTA - Today, First Liberty Institute and the law firm of Parks, Chesin & Walbert filed a lawsuit on behalf of Dr. Eric Walsh against the Georgia Department of Public Health, alleging that state officials engaged in religious discrimination against Walsh by firing him over the content of his sermons. Read more about this case and view lawsuit: firstliberty.org/walsh Eric Walsh is a public health expert with multiple advanced degrees who served on President Obama’s Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDs. In May 2014, Walsh accepted a position with Georgia’s Department of Public Health (DPH) to be the District Health Director for Northwest Georgia. A week later, Georgia state officials requested copies of sermons he had preached as a lay minister in the Seventh Day Adventist Church. Topics covered in the sermons included following God, having compassion on the poor, health, marriage, sexuality, world religions, science, creationism, and more. In an email, the DPH Director of Human Resources assigned several of Dr. Walsh’s sermons to employees to review and critique. (View email) The day after Dr. Walsh provided sermons to the state, government officials informed Dr. Walsh that … [Read more...]

Experiencing a ‘Holy Spirit’ moment: Fourteen make decisions for Christ at RA Congress

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer WOODWORTH – The recent RA Congress concluded with truly a Holy Spirit moment during the Saturday morning session according to Gibbie McMillan, state director for Royal Ambassadors. After offering an invitation to come forward and accept Christ, McMillan watched as 14 young men made their way to the front of the Tall Timbers Conference Center activities building. Only the Holy Spirit could have orchestrated that moment, McMillan believes. “We had a very great opportunity right there to see those boys come to Christ,” McMillan said. “It’s a moment where we present the Gospel to them and they respond in a way of the Holy Spirit drawing them to a point of decision. “It’s always an exciting time to see the Holy Spirit move in this way,” he said. “Seeing the boys come forward to make a decision is why we do ministry.” McMillan said the decisions resulted from seeds being intentionally planted, cultivated and harvested. “That’s the end result,” McMillan said. “This is an example of why it’s vitally important the Gospel be presented at every opportunity.” Dustin Lee, children’s minister at First Baptist Lafayette, was able to lead one of the boys in his group to Christ at RA Congress. Lee … [Read more...]

Louisiana Notables

IN REMEMBERANCE Jeffrey L. Woodrich, 57, passed away April 4. An accomplished carpenter, painter, and cabinet maker, the lifelong resident of Walker took those skills on the road when the Lord called him into the ministry. He and his wife started Louisiana Volunteer Mission Builders, which later turned into Jeffrey Woodrich Baptist Builders. He worked for the Louisiana Baptist Convention for 17 years as the associate and then Mission Builder Strategist building numerous church buildings across the state. He is survived by his wife of 22 years, Erin Dawn Higginbotham Woodrich, his three sons, Toby Keith and wife Amanda and their two boys Jordan and Kyle; Cory James and his wife Sarah and their daughter Elena Belle; and Jeffrey Andrew Woodrich; his mother, Melba Janette Woodrich; his sister, Deborah Ann McMorris and husband Brett along with their two children Austin and Jenna.; his in-laws, Louis Lodney and Mary Higginbotham and sisters-in-law, Patricia and Tereasa Higginbotham. He was preceded in death by his father, Harold Ernest “Woody” Woodrich and his grandparents, Ernest and Helen Woodrich and Toby and Ola Haynes. A memorial service took place April 8 at Judson Baptist Church in Walker. ON THE MOVE Steven Hicks is the … [Read more...]