By John Kennedy, Louisiana Treasurer Winston Churchill said that "for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle." It's no secret that many parts of Louisiana's economy are sluggish right now, especially the oil patch. Times are tough, and there is talk about making them even tougher by raising revenue through tax increases. Yes, the state, as usual, is strapped for cash. Yes, we're facing, as usual, a large shortfall in the state budget. But do you think the average oil industry worker is washing down his caviar with the finest magnum of champagne right now? If you do, let me introduce you to "George." George is a hard-working landman with a wife and a mortgage. He's got a roof that needs replacing, a truck that rattles instead of purrs and a baby on the way. As a landman, George works in the oil and gas industry, which is experiencing more twists and turns right now than a "Game of Thrones" episode. The industry is bleeding jobs. Businesses are closing. More workers are joining the unemployment line every day. They just hope they don't have to join the bread line. George devoted more than a decade to a company that folded last … [Read more...]

By Pat Ennis FORT WORTH, Texas (BP) - A blond-headed, blue-eyed daughter, I looked like the perfect blend of my mother and father. As others commented on the likeness, my parents smiled inwardly knowing that it was their heavenly Father who had chosen the custom matching of their adopted daughter as He had "made a home for the lonely" (Psalm 68:6 NASB), or as the King James Version puts it, "God setteth the solitary in families." Oliver and Mary Ennis were older when they commenced the adoption process and were willing to commit to nurturing a child. Eventually they welcomed an abandoned child with pneumonia to their home. She had lain so long on her back that the back of her head was bald. I was that abandoned child. Many children spend many years with one or both parents. My parents knew they likely wouldn't enjoy the normal number, so they maximized each to its fullest. Celebrations were important in the Ennis home. I recall well the January 31st when I arrived at home and found the dining room table set with Mom's best linen and china. Lying across my bed was a new "fancy" dress, and my favorite black patent leather shoes were awaiting my feet. I was 10. Without giving extensive details -- my parents explained … [Read more...]

By Melanie Lenow Sunday, Jan. 17, is Sanctity of Human Life Sunday in the Southern Baptist Convention. FORT WORTH, Texas (BP) -- It was the beginning of the summer when I first heard of the horrendous videos about Planned Parenthood. For months, I would see them posted and mourn for the children affected, for the moms who were so grievously deceived. I would cry for the atrocities and then my mind would go to the facility that is literally across the street from the hospital where my own children were born. It grieved me that on the days when I gave my children life, the lives of other babies were being brutally taken away. Finally, I realized that my mourning, although justified, was doing nothing to save any children. It was at that moment when I began praying that God would give me direction in how I could help my community be a city of life and not death. God places each believer in a particular location, not for them to hide their light in the security of their own home, but so they can greatly affect those around them. A city where there are Christians should be better off for it. However, the problems seem too big, so many of us stay silent, frozen by lack of direction. At the end of this summer, God placed … [Read more...]

By Will Hall, Message Editor While announcing new gun restrictions Jan. 5, President Obama, surrounded by parents of the 20 children murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut during 2012, became deeply emotional. “First graders,” he said. “Every time I think about those kids, it gets me mad.” “Our unalienable right to life, and liberty, and the pursuit of happiness — those rights were stripped from college students in Blacksburg and Santa Barbara, and from high schoolers at Columbine, and from first-graders in Newtown,” he said. “First-graders.” “But I also believe we can find ways to reduce gun violence consistent with the Second Amendment,” he offered. “I mean, think about it – we all believe in the First Amendment, the guarantee of free speech. But we accept that you cannot yell “fire” in a theater. Then he said something remarkable. “We understand there are some constraints on our freedom in order to protect innocent people.” The president is justified in regretting the loss of innocent lives in shootings across the United States. In 2014, there were 8,124 murders using firearms, according to the FBI; and, another 21,175 individuals took their own lives with a gun, the CDC reports – nearly … [Read more...]

Dear Church Member, You are… God’s plan to display his glory to the nations. God’s plan to show your kids how to follow Christ. God’s plan to reach your neighbors & show them what it means to know Christ. God’s plan to expand his kingdom in your town, city, state. God’s plan to show His wisdom to the world through pooling your gifts with other believers in a local church. Loved. Chosen. Favored. Saved. Filled. Forgiven. And so much more. You have… God’s power within to help you overcome the daily & the deadly. God’s word to guide you in the way to believe & behave. God’s gifts to build others up & help grow his kingdom. God’s resources to be managed in a way that honors him & shows others that He is better than this world. God’s promise that He will be with you & he will use you & he will empower you. God’s people around you to encourage & build you up. Power. Wisdom. Grace. Eternal Life. Peace. And so much more. YOU ARE, much more than just a volunteer. YOU ARE a leader in God’s kingdom & YOU HAVE everything you need to make a difference. No excuses. No delay. No looking at others. Be who YOU ARE meant to be. Use what YOU HAVE. What’s stopping you? “I’m … [Read more...]

By Mike Evans, Pastor Elwood Baptist Church, Forest Hill BOSSIER CITY – Across our Convention there are spiritual warning signs found in less giving by some, fewer baptisms by many and a very real feel some churches are dying. And this should be concerning to every Louisiana Baptist. I firmly believe in the Cooperative Program and find it astounding so many independent and autonomous SBC/LBC congregations can come together to do so many vitally important things to fulfill our Lord's Great Commission while others do not find it imperative. Perhaps some of us have forgotten the CP is truly a bona fide miracle. It could be we have also forgotten or de-emphasized some of the things we used to do when the Cooperative Program first began almost a century ago. Today, we have Christian media and more technology to use than we can keep up with. So what is different today and what is lacking? For one thing, I don't see the tears that used to be a part of most every service in our churches only a few decades ago. People used to plead for the Lord to not only save their families from their enemies but also hell. Could it be the prosperity we now enjoy has made us spend more time feathering our nest, as if we will live … [Read more...]

By Dr. Marvin Jones, Louisiana College The training of preachers and pastors has a long-standing tradition within Christianity. Paul’s command to Timothy to “train faithful men” (II Tim 2:2) is an essential for the church’s spiritual health. This tradition of Christian education supporting the Christian church has continued ever since. My brief review of the Apologists and Monasticism will demonstrate the concept of pastor training and pastoral ministries support the health of the church. The review of the Apologists will show that a theologically trained pastor is healthy to a congregation as opposed to a theologically trained monk who provided limited leadership to the church. The Apologists The early church faced intellectual and spiritual challenges from the Roman culture, including attacks on the credibility of the gospel. The Roman strategy was not only to undermine the influence of Christianity but to prove it was spiritually and intellectually dismissive. These polemical battles for Christian truth were often fought in churches by competent pastors. The pastors were known as the Apologists. The Apologists were a second-century product of the Christian church which interacted with its cultural counterpart. These … [Read more...]

By Billy Graham On that first Christmas night, the angels appeared to shepherds on a hill near Bethlehem. Alfred Edersheim, the great 19th-century Jewish-Christian scholar, wrote in his book The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah that the shepherds and the sheep to whom the angels appeared near Bethlehem were no ordinary shepherds and sheep. The sheep were those bound for the temple sacrifices. The shepherds were outcasts because of their necessary isolation from religious ordinances. And their manner of life rendered legal observances unlikely, if not absolutely impossible. How wonderful that in God’s wisdom and love the angels should appear to them—the doomed and the outcast—that night. Today we can declare to the world that the Good Shepherd cares for all people and wants to give them peace. Christ came on that first Christmas for one great purpose—to die on the cross for our sins. Now God offers forgiveness, inner peace, and eternal life to all who will repent and believe in His Son. This is the Christmas message! Do you know people who need to hear about God’s love and forgiveness? Will you share the true Christmas message with them this year? … [Read more...]