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Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

Understanding Southern Baptist Convention data, part one

By Chuck Kelley You can make one important assumption whenever you consider any official SBC data: The numbers are the numbers. Sometimes the numbers may encourage you. Sometimes the numbers may discourage you. At times, the numbers may truly surprise or befuddle you, but at all times be confident that the numbers in official SBC records are the result of SBC data gatherers having done their best to build the most accurate numerical record possible. … [Read more...]

Five reasons you must see ‘Sound of Freedom’

I really didn’t want to see this movie. Does anyone want to see a movie about horrific crimes against children and the systems that support or fail to stop child sex trafficking? But I felt an obligation to support “Sound of Freedom.” And I was happy to hear the buzz in the conservative media sphere. “Sound of Freedom” was making noise in all the right places. … [Read more...]

EDITORIAL: Hallowed be thy name

By Will Hall, Baptist Message executive editor ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) – The 10 Commandments may be viewed from several perspectives: -- Some believers see them simply as a list of dos and don’ts. -- Others consider them in the context of their origins: As the first formal instruction to the Hebrew nation after escaping from Egypt, these were something of a primer for Israel to transition from being a people of Pharoah for 400 years to becoming the people of the one true God in perpetuity. -- More, still, look at these basic tenets in terms of how they are grouped (the first four address a relationship with God; the fifth involves family relationships; and the last five broadly describe relationships with everyone else). Together, these commandments reveal a hierarchy of relationships within the relational world God created for us as relational beings. In other words, God tells us to make Him the priority in our relationships, then family (and by inference, marriage) and, finally, yet importantly, our neighbors. Regardless, in all three perspectives, the stricture in the third commandment is the same: Do not use God’s name in vain. It is a key to obedience. It is an essential element of how we set ourselves apart … [Read more...]

EDITORIAL – Paid family leave: A ‘peace’ agreement for a post-Roe world.

By Gene Mills, Louisiana Family Forum president BATON ROUGE, La. (LBM) -- After working my entire career to promote principled family policy and protect human life, I am still moved with emotion by the gigantic shift which occurred on June 24, 2022, when the U.S. Supreme Court announced its correct decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. I am privileged to be in Washington D.C. on the anniversary of this historic moment leading a delegation of the next generation of Louisiana leaders. In many respects, the work is just beginning as we forge a path forward in crafting family policy. One issue provides an opportunity for agreement across the political spectrum. Most Americans agree that there is a need for paid leave after the birth or adoption of a new baby. Seventy-one percent of registered voters support paid gamily leave for parents, crossing party, gender, and ideological lines (65% of conservatives, 68% of moderates, 83% of liberals).1 Parents need time to bond with their newborns. Mothers need time to recuperate physically after childbirth. Both fathers and babies benefit from the connection established in those first weeks. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 23% of workers (9% of low-wage workers) have … [Read more...]

FIRST-PERSON: Gaining altitude – WMU celebrates 135 years of SBC missions

By Sandy Wisdom-Martin According to an insect identification database, 647 types of bugs and insects are found in Alabama. Some downright scare me. I looked at images of each until I located the entry most resembling the flying insect I watched from a chair on my back deck. I believe it was a common whitetail skimmer dragonfly that captured my attention. I can’t be totally sure since there are 5,000 species of dragonflies. I’m comfortable with that guess since the common whitetail is prevalent in North America. The behavior of the dragonfly drew my interest. It dipped below the top of the deck railings. Then it kept circling inside the deck over and over again because it thought it was trapped by the rails. Only by gaining altitude could it break free from perceived captivity. Watching the dragonfly provided a good lesson. Often, we are caught in a continuous loop, unable to rise above self-imposed limitations. Gaining altitude would enable us to see a larger picture and view things in new and different ways. It was 135 years ago when 32 delegates from 12 states endeavored to gain a new perspective and caught a vision for how God wanted to work in their midst. Woman’s Missionary Union was birthed. Those who have gone before … [Read more...]

Baptism to discipleship

By Steve Horn ALEXANDRIA, La. - Some years ago, I was on a follow-up visit with a friend, and we were visiting a gentleman who had recently prayed to receive Christ. The man had not yet been baptized, and we were going to talk with him about doing so. … [Read more...]

Inexplicable peace

I don’t consider myself a worrywart, but there are times when I can work myself into a little frenzy. I think, “What if this happens? If this happens, then that will happen, and this can happen.” … [Read more...]

Truth, sexuality and gender

According to the American Civil Liberties Union, a new Indiana law that prohibits teaching on human sexuality to children in pre-kindergarten through third grade is designed to “control what youth can and cannot read, what they can and cannot learn, and — most troublingly — who they can and cannot be.” … [Read more...]

Remember the Titans

I was a doctoral student at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary when the Conservative Resurgence was launched at the 1979 annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention in Houston, Texas. … [Read more...]