By Tom Strode, Baptist Press NEW ORLEANS (BP) - Southern Baptists celebrated the power of partnership with a veteran National Football League player and his family in dedicating a new ultrasound machine in a New Orleans health center. Benjamin and Kirsten Watson, along with their five children, joined in the dedication of the new addition to the ministry of Baptist Community Health Services (BCHS). The Watsons donated the ultrasound machine in the fall through the Psalm 139 Project, the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission's ministry to help place such technology in pregnancy resource centers across the country. The machine serves women in crisis pregnancies as well as others with medical needs at BCHS' Andrew P. Sanchez Center in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans. The nonprofit ministry provides health care through four centers in underserved areas of the city. The churches of the New Orleans Baptist Association, with the help of the Southern Baptist North American Mission Board, launched BCHS in 2014. Speakers at the Feb. 10 ceremony at the Sanchez Center pointed to the cooperation demonstrated by the ultrasound machine's placement. "It's been great to see how the Lord has used the passions of the Watson … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer ALEXANDRIA – Louisiana Baptists remain committed to planting 300 churches by 2020, despite recent news that the Georgia Barnette State Missions Offering, which helps fund new churches in the state, fell $291,000 short of the $1.7 million goal set for 2018. The $1,409,000 in GBO gifts will provide money for church planting, but also for disaster relief, resort ministries, Mission Church Builders’ projects, training conferences and leadership training/missions education events, as well as partially fund the missions and ministry team budget. John Hebert, state missions and ministry director for Louisiana Baptists, said there some resources in place to handle the shortfall and continue the planned church planting pace. “We will have to be cautious with the way we spend our money this year,” Hebert said. “Our state executive board, missions committee of the executive board and the state missions offering committee will make sure we can tap into reserve funds if necessary. They won’t let our church planting efforts suffer because they understand the importance of them in reaching our state for Christ.” The other ministries funded by the offering will not be impacted. Hebert … [Read more...]

By Message Staff HOUSTON, Texas (LBM) – Four men who previously served as Louisiana Baptist pastors, youth ministers and volunteers are listed in a database of  Southern Baptist individuals who were convicted of or pled guilty to sexual abuse crimes, published Feb. 10 in a Houston Chronicle  investigative article. The news report identified about 380 sexual abusers and 700 victims in SBC congregations nationwide from 1998 — 2017. The former Louisiana Baptists listed in the Houston Chronicle database are: Holland Farrell McMorris, former pastor of Paradise Baptist Church, Ball. He was convicted in 2010 in a Rapides Parish court and is serving a 25-year sentence in a Louisiana state prison for sex crimes. Angelo “Doogie” Golatt, former youth volunteer at Donahue Family Church, Pineville (which later became Journey Church). He was arrested in 2006 in Jerome County, Idaho, where he was charged with two counts of sexual abuse/exploitation of a vulnerable adult, and later pleaded guilty to a reduced battery charge, and was sentenced to four counts of forcible rape in 2012 in a Rapides Parish court. He is serving a 40-year sentence in Louisiana. James Robert Griffin, former volunteer associate pastor at Immanuel … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer DRY PRONG – Jackson Cooper was devastated after his mother, Laura, died in an automobile crash last October. However, instead of dwelling in grief and anger about the sudden loss, Cooper, 32, went on a spiritual journey that led him to find hope in Christ. TRUST IN HIM “Even though my mom and I were very close, her death didn’t make me angry at God or anyone else, but just got me to thinking about God’s plan for my life,” Cooper said. “When the pastor at New Prospect Baptist Church asked me, during a visit to our home, if I was a Christian, I told him I had my doubts. “Once I understood that I needed to move from knowing Him in my head to accepting Him in my heart, my life was reborn.” LED BY HIM Cooper asked his wife, children, sisters and father to witness his November baptism at his childhood church. Since then, Cooper’s faith has grown to new heights as he daily testifies how Christ forever changed his life. “It felt great to show my faith and show that I do believe in Christ,” Cooper said. “I’ve learned to embrace the Lord more often and keep Him close to me. Also, I’ve learned to let God handle everyday problems. My stress and everyday life have improved and I … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer COVINGTON – Dozens came forward to pray at the altar during the final moments Student Night at the Louisiana Baptist Evangelism Conference, Jan. 28. “Could we somehow tune our ear tonight to God wanting to do something significant in the state of Louisiana, all across this state from every border, every edge, that God would usher in an awakening, that the bells of heaven would ring because men and women and young people in this room would say yes to the call of making Jesus famous,” Ed Newton told the crowd moments earlier inside the worship center at the First Baptist Church, Covington. Newton, pastor of Community Bible Church, San Antonio, Texas, issued a challenge for Christ-followers to help others see their need for Jesus. Citing Luke 19:1-10, he used the example of Zacchaeus sitting in a tree as an allegory of how Christians can help others come to Christ. “God’s called us to be sycamore trees, that we would be able through the platform of our lives be that branch for that person who may feel as if they are insignificant enough that Jesus would never see them,” he said. “Could we be that step for somebody to all of a sudden look up and see Jesus?” Newton said bringing … [Read more...]

By Will Hall, Message Editor WASHINGTON (LBM)—President Trump made a bold pro-life statement during his annual State of the Union address declaring, “All children – born and unborn – are made in the holy image of God,” in apparent response to a bill passed in New York and a similar one rejected in Virginia, both containing provisions that allow abortion up to the moment of birth and also threaten the life of a baby who survives an abortion. A CALL TO PROTECT LIFE Trump’s proclamation was one of several addressing key life issues during his Feb. 5 presentation to Congress. In his annual report he called for legislators and policy makers to “work together to build a culture that cherishes innocent life,” and he outlined how his proposed budget for the coming year would reflect that value. Trump said his budget request would include a line item for “$500 million over the next 10 years” to fund “the fight against childhood cancer.” Likewise, without specifying an amount, he said his plan asks for money to support “nationwide paid family leave – so that every new parent has the chance to bond with their newborn child.” Moreover, with regard to protecting the unborn, he said he would offer legislation “to prohibit … [Read more...]