My Martha Bailey, First Baptist Covington Although I had planned another post for today, my heart won’t let me write about anything except the punch in the gut that our neighbors to the west all the way to Lafayette received last weekend. Caught completely off guard, residents in that area received anywhere from 15-28 inches of rain in a 48-hour period. With such an extreme amount of water falling in such a short window of time, the rivers and tributaries could not accommodate the runoff. The flooding resulted in the deaths of eleven people, 20,000 people having to be rescued from homes and vehicles, and 11,000 victims seeking refuge in shelters. Unfortunately, many of those people hadn’t even gotten over the flood that hit this area only five months ago. Some of them had just completed the restoration of their homes after the March flood. Others were still in the process. How discouraging that must be. Twenty Southeast Louisiana parishes have been declared as disaster areas. It is being referred to as a “historic flood event”. Meteorologists are comparing it to the devastation caused by a hurricane that hit this area in 1940, over 75 years ago. But even though what has happened in our state has been categorized as … [Read more...]

By Waylon Bailey, Pastor, First Baptist Covington It’s not that we aren’t used to water. We have water everywhere. It’s that we’ve simply never (at least in 100 years) seen this much water before. How much water have we had? Most of the affected area (roughly between Hammond to Lafayette or from Interstate 55 to Interstate 49) had over 2 feet of rainfall in a short period of time. Some areas had 30 inches of rain. The flood waters rose so rapidly that people had to actually flee their homes. Two rivers crested at historic levels and Lakes Pontchartrain and Maurepas both rose over 6″ in water level. These are both large lakes. People are hurting, especially those who flooded just last March and were about ready to move back into their homes. Many of the affected people do not have flood insurance because either they are not in a flood zone or neither they nor their neighbors have ever been close to flooding before. Some houses received a few feet of water while others were flooded to the roof. Just in our church, which is not in the center of the affected area, we know of members who slept in their attic as the waters rose and one of our pastors and several of our members were stranded on Interstate 12 for 30 … [Read more...]

By Steve Horn, Pastor, FBC Lafayette Since we cannot gather today, I thought I might give us something to meditate on from God’s Word. Let me encourage you to gather your family around God’s Word today. Read together Genesis 32:24-32. Jacob’s struggle with the “man of God” sets the stage for some lessons we can learn. Jacob wrestled through the night with this unidentified “man of God.” Jacob demanded, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” Can our wrestling with catastrophes like flooding bless us? They can if we are willing to learn some spiritual lessons through these events. These are not new lessons, but they are lessons that we seem to never learn. Ask God to help you to learn these lessons today. Jacob’s story simply tells us that we can be blessed by some of the most difficult experiences of life. I want us to turn to several passages of Scripture today as we consider 3 separate “spiritual lessons” from these catastrophic events. Lesson No. 1:  The Prayer Lesson Scripture Reference:  James 5:16 The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. The first lesson that we can learn is the prayer lesson. May we learn over and over again that nothing is too difficult for God. We must always … [Read more...]

By Ron F. Hale People got killed every weekend in the bloody Fifth Ward of Houston, TX where George Foreman struggled to find his way as a troubled teenager. With a menacing manner and imposing physique Foreman became a bully and a mugger. Either by fate or the providence of God, Foreman found his way into a new government program called Job Corps. Charles “Doc” Broadus, a counselor and boxing coach, inspired Foreman to turn that big chip on his shoulder into punching prowess. Incredibly, in 20 short months Foreman went from being a no-name novice to becoming the world heavyweight amateur champion. Waving a small USA flag as the new heavyweight boxing gold medal winner was Foreman’s “Kodak moment” at the 1968 Olympics in Mexico City. The 19-year-old came home a champion; however, some called him a “chump” for not protesting with other black athletes. This was a gut-wrenching blow to someone who fought so hard to overcome a life of poverty and pain. That chip on the shoulder returned with a vengeance. Turning professional in 1969, Foreman promptly knocked out 35 fighters, racking up a perfect 37-0 record by 1972. His ring résumé led to a toe-to-toe shot at the heavyweight crown with Joe Frazier on January 22, 1973 in … [Read more...]

By Mike Johnson BOSSIER CITY –  State Representative Mike Johnson (R-Bossier City) urged Louisianans July 28 to support at the ballot this fall Act 678, a proposed constitutional amendment to assist the families of first responders and military personnel who die in the line of duty. The amendment, authored by Johnson and passed unanimously by the Legislature in June, would provide important tax relief for the families who suffer such a loss. “With so many of these tragedies occurring in recent months, many Louisianans are asking themselves, ‘What small difference can I make to help those hurt by the loss of life from these deadly police shootings?’  Passing our amendment would be a one important contribution,” said Johnson. News reports have noted shooting deaths of law enforcement officers have risen 78 percent so far this year over last. Sadly, Louisiana ranks as the state with the second highest number of officer deaths, losing seven officers already this year. The National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund has also tracked a shocking increase in “ambush-style assaults” upon police. Johnson noted that as a member of a first responder family himself, he feels particularly for the families of these brave public … [Read more...]

By John Kennedy, Louisiana State Treasurer BATON ROUGE -- Louisiana just became a more expensive place to live, work, play, raise a family and own a business. As we all know, legislators watched winter turn into spring and then spring turn into summer at the State Capitol this year. They spent 19 weeks in legislative session. Here's what was accomplished: State government now has the second largest budget in Louisiana history (second only to the post-Hurricane Katrina days when state government was a mere conduit for the millions of federal taxpayer dollars that flowed through to help our people rebuild). Counting last year's regular session, the legislature raised $2.4 billion in new taxes and fees. Not all legislators went along; many fought valiantly against the Governor and his supporters, who apparently believe we are one tax increase away from prosperity. But the governor won, and it's the largest tax increase in Louisiana's history. What's worse, not a single bill that even remotely resembles spending reform passed. And there's talk Governor Edwards may call lawmakers back to the Capitol in the fall. I don't know about you, but I'm not sure my family can afford that. Louisiana businesses, many … [Read more...]

BATON ROUGE, LA - State Treasurer John Kennedy today called for state Sen. Troy Brown to resign his public office. "Sen. Brown has been arrested not once, but twice, on domestic violence charges. He bit his wife and hit another woman referred to as his 'side friend' in the face," said Treasurer Kennedy. "Violence against women is completely unacceptable for anyone, much less an elected official. The state spends tens of millions of dollars a year to prevent domestic violence. Senator Brown should immediately resign." … [Read more...]

By Waylon Bailey, Pastor of FBC Covington It’s Sunday afternoon, and I feel intense grief over the shooting of a number of police officers in Baton Rouge. At this point, three are reported to have been killed. I cannot imagine what officers and their families all over the nation are feeling right now. What can we say about such unspeakable acts? First, never return violence for violence. Neither you nor I have the authorization to do so. “Never pay back evil with more evil. Do things in such a way that everyone can see you are honorable” (Romans 12:17). Punishment is the duty of God and government. In this and all cases of violence and lawlessness, government must do its job. Second, we need police. Only law enforcement stands between us and anarchy or a wild West mentality. Recently, Charles Barkley, a former professional athlete, weighed in on the police killings in Dallas. Barkley, an African American, noted that the black community especially needs a police presence. We all do. We all need police officers who are called to uphold the rule of law and to treat all people impartially and with dignity and respect. Society cannot survive without it. It is in God’s plan. Read again Romans 13 about the responsibility of … [Read more...]

Eddie Wren, Pastor FBC Rayville RAYVILLE -- I woke up Monday morning expecting to have a great day off, but the day soon hit a sour note. I came across an article shared on social media entitled: Alcohol Abuse, Perry Noble, and the Church Response—What Now?  I read the article and discovered Pastor Perry Noble had been removed as pastor from New Springs Church due to “unfortunate choices” which apparently included abuse of alcohol. I say apparently because the article does not spell it out but does say “board members had confronted Noble on numerous occasions regarding his use of alcohol.” I do not know Perry Noble. I do not write to cast judgment upon him. I pray God will heal and remove any struggle he has with alcohol and I pray that he will have a God honoring ministry for the rest of his life. I write because I am terribly concerned with the approach to alcohol by my generation of pastors and more the approach to alcohol by the next generation of pastors. There appears to be a growing trend of young pastors embracing the use of alcohol. During a meeting at the Southern Baptist Convention there was a question asked of Al Mohler concerning the use of alcohol. He masterfully answered the question informing everyone in the … [Read more...]

By Waylon Bailey I lived through the 60s. Those were my teenage years. They were very difficult. This past week was also very bad. Maybe I’ve forgotten a lot, or, maybe this really has taken racism, anger, and bitterness and reset it to a whole different level. How do we learn to live in this very different world? Here are four lessons that immediately come to mind. First, reach out to people who are different. For me, different people would be black or Hispanic. For you they might be white or black or Hispanic. We really can’t learn to live together until we begin learning who we are. I have some wonderful black friends. I enjoy them immensely, and I respect them deeply. It’s time that we get to know one another. Second, find someone to be kind to. Start at home, take it to work and church, and be patient in the grocery store. Sincerely look for people to treat as you want to be treated. Bo Jackson, the athlete, tweeted this Thursday night after the police shootings: “Before you go to sleep tonight, I challenge every single one of you to do something nice for a complete stranger. Our world needs that.” Third, begin looking at people differently. See them for who they are – they are created in the image of God and … [Read more...]