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"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

NY court: Farmers can’t obey their faith even in their own backyard

By Staff, Alliance Defending Freedom ALBANY, N.Y. – A New York court Thursday affirmed a Division of Human Rights ruling against an upstate couple for declining to coordinate a same-sex wedding ceremony in their own backyard. “All Americans should be free to live and work according to their beliefs, especially in our own backyards,” said Alliance Defending Freedom Legal Counsel Caleb Dalton, who argued before the court on behalf of the couple in Gifford v. Erwin. “The government went after both this couple’s freedom and their ability to make a living simply for adhering to their faith on their own property. The court should have rejected this unwarranted and unconstitutional government intrusion, so we will consult with our client regarding appeal.” Robert and Cynthia Gifford live in a barn they built on their farm and have occasionally hosted weddings on the first floor and the surrounding backyard area. Cynthia serves as a wedding coordinator for those events and does everything but officiate the ceremony. After the agency ruled that the Giffords were guilty of “sexual orientation discrimination,” it fined them $10,000 plus $3,000 in damages and ordered them to implement re-education training classes designed to … [Read more...]

What the Powerball tells us about ourselves

By Waylon Bailey, Pastor, First Baptist Church Covington COVINGTON – I’m writing this on Wednesday afternoon so I don’t know what happened late last night with the Powerball drawing. Eventually, someone is going to win. Until that happens Americans will continue to throw their money after the big prize. You probably know all the particulars. The country is in a frenzy over the giveaway of $1.5 billion. I read an article this morning about the odds of winning the Powerball. It’s one in 292+ million– –not very good odds. If you want a fascinating look at these enormous odds, click here: http://graphics.wsj.com/lottery-odds/ People in the six states without the Powerball jackpot–Alabama, Alaska, Hiwaii, Mississippi, Nevada, and Utah–are clamoring to be included. Their lawmakers are really complaining. They want the opportunity to spend more money–other people’s money. What does this tell us about ourselves? First, it tells us that we think only about ourselves. As we look at life, we live it as “it’s all about me.” Jesus warned us about thinking this way. By doing so, we miss what our Creator planned for us. Second, it tells us money is everything to us. When will we learn that a person’s life doesn’t consist in the … [Read more...]

WMU Exec. Director Wanda Lee announces retirement

By Julie Walters, WMU communications BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (BP) - Wanda Lee announced a search committee will be appointed to seek her successor as executive director/treasurer of national Woman's Missionary Union at the group's board meeting, Jan. 9-11. During the meeting, WMU also heard mission reports and addressed ways it is assisting International Mission Board personnel who have elected to take a voluntary retirement incentive. The meeting was at Shocco Springs Conference Center in Talladega, Ala. In her report, Lee said no date has been set for her departure. She pledged to continue to lead WMU until a new executive director is named and help facilitate a smooth transition. "It is my duty to give sufficient notice and it's my desire to ensure a seamless transition as the committee seeks someone with a fresh vision for our future," Lee shared Jan. 11 at the meeting. "May God bless the new leader of national WMU as He's blessed me on my leadership journey." Lee was elected executive director of national WMU in January 2000. She is the only woman in the history of WMU who also served as national president, an office she held 1996–2000. Lee served as president of Georgia WMU from 1993–1996. In addition, she and her … [Read more...]

Franklin Graham: The State of the Union is broken

By Mark H. Hunter, Regional Reporter BATON ROUGE - The day after President Barack Obama delivered his last State of the Union speech, evangelist Franklin Graham on Wednesday told an estimated 3,000 to 4,000 people packed into the North Boulevard Town Square, “the state of the union is broken.” Graham is preaching in all 50 states in the coming months, calling America back to biblical values, encouraging Christians to stand firm for their faith and to get involved in the political process as part of his “Decision America Tour.” Baton Rouge was third stop on the schedule where, in most places they are holding rallies on the state’s capitol steps. “We’re here today because we see that our nation is in trouble - that’s the state of the union,” Graham declared as the crowd cheered and many waved miniature American flags. “We are in trouble spiritually, racially, economically and we’re in trouble politically. No political party is going to be able to turn this thing around - only God can fix it.” “I have zero hope in the Democratic party,” he said as the crowd cheered, adding, “but before you Republicans start hi-fiving each other - I have zero hope in the Republican party - or any other political parties.“ The crowd cheered … [Read more...]

Numerous briefs filed with U.S. Supreme Court in opposition to Obama administration’s abortion-pill mandate

By Staff, Alliance Defending Freedom WASHINGTON – A broad array of groups and states – including more than 200 members of Congress and 20 states – filed briefs this week with the U.S. Supreme Court in opposition to the Obama administration’s abortion-pill mandate and its religious non-profit compliance mechanism, which forces the groups to violate their faith. Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys represent a Christian college and four Christian universities in Geneva College v. Burwell and Southern Nazarene University v. Burwell, two of seven cases that the Supreme Court agreed in November of last year to take up. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services mandate forces employers, regardless of their religious or moral convictions, to provide abortion-inducing drugs, sterilization, and contraception through their health plans under threat of heavy penalties. Geneva College in Pennsylvania and the four universities in Oklahoma – Southern Nazarene University, Oklahoma Wesleyan University, Oklahoma Baptist University, and Mid-America Christian University – specifically object to providing abortifacients. “The administration continues to impose the same unacceptable choice: obey and abandon your freedom, or resist and … [Read more...]

Are you ready to March? Come out and support Cenla Right to Life March Jan. 30

Three pro-life marches in the state are quickly approaching and to prepare you more for the events, Louisiana Right to Life has released a preview video. The Baton Rouge and Shreveport/Bossier City marches are scheduled for Jan. 23 with a third, which was added just this year, taking place Jan. 30 in Alexandria/Pineville. For more information, watch the video and visit the Louisiana Life March website. https://youtu.be/0UyImJX_NK4 … [Read more...]

Five enemies of religious liberty

By Gerald Harris, Georgia Christian Index Editor During the current legislative session under the Gold Dome, Georgia Baptists will coalesce with a myriad of other groups to attempt to get a strong anti-discrimination Religious Liberty bill passed. This kind of legislation has come to be known as the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), because many of them are patterned after the federal RFRA that was passed by Congress in 1993 and signed into law by then-President Bill Clinton. In my estimation there are several enemies of religious liberty in America. First there is secular humanism. Although those who espouse this ideology would probably deny it, secular humanism is a religion – a religion that deifies man and humanizes God. Secular humanism puts man at the center of the universe and everything revolves around him. The humanists would embrace with appreciation and affirmation the words of William Ernest Henley, the author of Invictus, who penned, “I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul.” Secular humanism is supported and facilitated by the ACLU, the Atheist Alliance of America, the National Organization of Women, the Freedom From Religion Foundation, Freethought Society, Center for Inquiry, and … [Read more...]

Louisiana Guardsmen continue building, monitoring flood barriers

By Spc. Joshua Barnett, Louisiana National Guard Public Affairs Office NEW ORLEANS – Approximately 300 Louisiana National Guardsmen continue working across the state to build protective barriers against the approaching flood waters and to patrol levees in support of local, parish and state officials at the request of the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. The 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team has installed more than 2.3 miles of HESCO barriers and is currently filling them with sand to create a levee on Avoca Island to prevent backwater flooding from reaching Morgan City and other towns in south Louisiana. “We had a hard night, it was very cold, it was muddy, but out Soldiers were motivated,” said Lt. Col. Rich Hanes, executive officer, 256th IBCT. “They stayed up all night with no complaints. I’m very proud of them. They’re hard working, great Soldiers and great Americans.” The levee project is part of a larger effort designed to prevent high water from the Atchafalaya River from travelling through Bayou Chene, over Avoca Island and into the Intracoastal Waterway, where it could flood Morgan City and other towns. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is working to seal off the waterway, … [Read more...]