By John Yeats, Executive Director of the Missouri Baptist Convention JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (BP) -- This happens more often than you think: Members of a Sunday School class decide to circumvent their offerings that would normally go through the church's systematic giving budget in order to give to a worthy cause or need. Maybe there has been an appeal for some particular project or independent missionary or humanitarian need -- all good things. Church leaders would say, "Ouch! It's okay to pass the plate a second time around to meet a specific need but the tithe [systematic giving] ought to be given to the local church 'storehouse.' It is how we work together to do our church's collective ministries." Calls come to our state convention office on a regular basis from pastors and church leaders. They say, "We receive repeated requests for direct support from meaningful, high impact ministries. What do we do?" Great question and big problem. While para-church ministries may have an up-close high impact, there are a whole series of questions to ask, like "Who is on the board of directors? Who reviews the audit of their books? What percentage of expenses is spent on operations and administration?" The same kind of questions … [Read more...]

By Dr. David Hankins, Executive director for Louisiana Baptists In Luke 6 Jesus makes it clear that it’s not “if” the storms come, but “when” the storms come. For us who call Louisiana home, the storms have come – again. Like many of you, I watched the radars that showed storm, after storm, after storm streaming from south to north. The colors on the radar screen were yellow, orange and dark green indicating heavy rains falling again and again over the same water-soaked areas. Flood watches and flash flood warnings scrolled across the bottom of our screens and lit up our smart phones. Schools began to close as rising waters made many rural roads, and even main highways, impassable. The recent storms did not generate the national media coverage of a Katrina, Rita or Ike, but they’ve affected a much wider area. Across the entire I-20 corridor in north Louisiana, down the western side of the state and stretching through central Louisiana to the north shore, the rain event of 2016 dumped over 20 inches of rain in some places causing rivers, streams and bayous to rise to historic levels. According to recent Baptist Message reports, in excess of 7,000 homes have been affected across 28 parishes. In addition to our … [Read more...]

By Waylon Bailey, Pastor First Baptist Covington This last week has been a bad week in Louisiana. First, the northern part of our state suffered catastrophic flooding. Then, the Southeast portion of our state (where I live and serve) has been hit with what has been called an “historic flood.” Saint Joseph’s Abby, a monastery built in the 1800s, has never flooded. But it did this week. That’s how historic it has been. It’s also been a hard week. While I can’t talk specifically about the hurts and needs in North Louisiana, I have seen firsthand the hurt, pain, and loss in southeast Louisiana. The flood came because the area to our north received in excess of 15 inches of rain overnight. Therefore, we had “flash flooding,” a term I’m not sure I understood until I saw it firsthand. I live three-fourths of a mile from a scenic little river called by the Indian name Bogue Falaya. The Bogue Falaya runs through my town of Covington and joins with the Tchefuncte River before it empties into Lake Pontchartrain. (those of you who are reading across the country and around the world can pronounce these names the best you can :). I watched this little river (about 30 feet wide) inundate houses in just a few hours time (my … [Read more...]

By Ron Hale If Islam’s testimony is one of peace, then please explain why cartoonists in the 21st century are petrified of dying brutal deaths if their published caricature crosses some forbidden line? Just over a year ago, Islamic extremists killed 12 people after violently assaulting the offices of Charlie Hebdo, a French satirical newspaper in Paris. Is this violence a modern phenomenon or is there a trail of blood stretching back to antiquity? Crusade historian Thomas F. Madden enlightens us to the ancient reality that Islam has always possessed a brooding and bloody side. In fact, he declares that the Crusades were in every way a defensive war -- the West’s belated response to the Muslim conquest of fully two-thirds of the Christian world. Madden is the former Chair of the History Department at Saint Louis University in St. Louis, Missouri, and Director of Saint Louis University's Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies. He believes the Crusades are quite possibly the most misunderstood event in European history. The history of the world shows that Europe was busy defending itself against Arab invaders beginning in the seventh century and through the tenth, a 300-plus year siege of the West. The Turkish … [Read more...]

By Joe McKeever “…you were unwilling.” (Matthew 23:37) 1) We do not want revival. Not really. 2) God does not trust us with a revival, and for good reason.  He refuses to arm an enemy, to endow a rebel. There! Those are the answers to the question. Now, pull up a chair and let’s talk about it. It’s that plain and simple: we really do not want a Heaven-sent, life-rearranging revival. We want the results, the good part, but not the upheaval in our personal lives, priorities, and schedules which a Heaven-sent revival would cause. We want our churches filled, the community changed, and the believers encouraged. What we do not want is to be caught up in a spiritual fervor that drives us to resign certain affiliations, stop certain activities, and devote ourselves to lengthy prayer meetings and Bible studies and ministry. We want the harvest without the cost. We want certain aspects of the harvest, but not all. So, God will not force revival on us. We could wish He would.  “This is for your own good,” He might say, as He force-fed His good things down our church steeples and into our hearts and homes and fellowships. But no. The Lord has chosen to set His blessings before us and to let us decide … [Read more...]

By Paul Watts, Pastor, First Baptist Church, Franklinton This year will mark 13 years since I became a parent. I have grown in my appreciation of the calling to raise Godly children and I’ve been humbled by my own ignorance in all areas related to the accomplishment of this task. I believe with all my heart just as the Lord has given Christina and I three children, He has plans to receive glory through each of their lives.  This is not something I gleaned from Scripture alone, but something I have seen modeled in the lives of my own parents throughout my lifetime. When others find out I am a pastor and both of my sisters are missionaries, the questions that inevitably follow are, “Were your parents missionaries?” or, “Was your dad a pastor?”  The answer to both is “no.”  They are still serving the Lord faithfully through their church, but so are many others.  God is the one who calls, but I certainly believe He used them to prepare us to answer that call.  I want to share a few of their character traits I believe the Lord would have us pursue as parents seeking to raise children that will impact this world for Christ. Love Jesus: This is where it begins. This is foundational.  Your children cannot emulate … [Read more...]

By Dr. Jeffrey Farmer FIRST-PERSON -- On Wednesday, Feb.  4, a good friend and fellow pastor had a heart attack and died. Terry was 42 years old and a hard worker. His church was a smaller membership church with a significant debt issue. Terry may have had some health issues, but appeared to be fine aside from carrying a bit of extra weight. While all details surrounding his death are not well known yet, it appears as though the contributing factors of extra weight and stress had a significant impact. For me it serves as a reminder of three significant biblical principles for ministry. First, we must remember that we are not our own. Jesus Christ has bought each of us with the price of his blood. This means that we are to serve as Christ commands, not as we see fit. This is important to remember when we consider our lifestyle. Romans 12:1 says, “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” As Christ-followers in general, and specifically pastors, we are to present the best body we possibly can for God’s service. This means taking care of our health in all aspects of life. Second, it is very easy for a … [Read more...]