By Staff, Baptist Message News that Billy Graham died during the early morning hours of Feb. 21 prompted reaction from those who admired the famous evangelist, including those in Louisiana Baptist circles. Fred Luter, pastor of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church, New Orleans, said a highlight of his time as president of the Southern Baptist Convention was a 2012 visit to the home of Graham. “I felt like I was in the presence of Moses on Mt. Sinai,” Luter told the Baptist Message. “For a kid from the Lower Ninth Ward in New Orleans to be in the home of the greatest evangelist that ever lived was an unforgettable moment I will cherish for the rest of my life.” Six years earlier, Graham came to New Orleans to lift the spirits of Luter, area pastors and the residents of the area who had lost so much in Hurricane Katrina, which made landfall in August 2005. During his message, Graham told the overflow crowd of 17,800 people at Celebration of Hope in the New Orleans Arena in late February 2016 that it was one of the last evangelistic sermons he would preach and that he was looking “forward to a big reunion one day in heaven” with his long-time crusade colleagues George Beverly Shea and Cliff Barrows.” The … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer ALEXANDRIA – Rahul Agarwal challenged students attending the recent Collegiate Evangelism Conference to consider how their everyday choices impact their future. “When you ask about what’s next, are you thinking of what’s tomorrow or what’s in your future or are you thinking of what’s in light of eternity,” said Agarwal, the director of men and married couples at Gwinnett Church, a campus of the non-denominational North Point Community Church in Atlanta, Ga., and a former Baptist Collegiate Ministry director at the University of South Florida. “So many times we are so relegated to now. We just think of now,” he continued. “We worry about our own lives instead of thinking of eternity and thinking about what God has for us.” Responding to his challenge to include Christ in their future, 10 students came forward to declare Christ the Lord of their lives, while many others answered the Holy Spirit’s call to follow Christ in obedience on a daily basis. Agarwal’s messages were part of a two-day conference that included seminars, worship led by the House Band – a group comprised of former Baptist Collegiate Ministry members from around the state – and a late-night fellowship. The … [Read more...]

By Jerry Love, LBF donor relations ALEXANDRIA (LBM) – Positive economic news, the welcoming of two new trustees and a budget surplus to finish 2017 highlighted the quarterly meeting of the Louisiana Baptist Foundation Board of Trustees meeting February 6 Members also learned that $1.7 million in donations benefiting Louisiana Baptists’ ministries had been received in 2017 and the Foundation was still seeking new accounting software. Trustees also discussed changing the current format of the Board’s meeting. INVESTMENT UPDATES Lee Morris, Investment Consultant with Graystone Consulting, gave trustees a glowing update on the performance of the LBF portfolio and general overview of market conditions. In his remarks, Morris described the equity markets as “having a banner year” with emerging markets and developed international equities leading the way. He said the expectation is for international equities to continue to outperform domestic equities, possibly for several years. Other issues he addressed: --Fixed income positions are, as expected, are producing very modest returns. -- Convertible securities and preferred stocks, have done well compared to their indices and added value to the fund mix in … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer JENA (LBM)—Anthony Paul became a babe in Christ a mere three days after turning 14 years old, but he was not alone in becoming a part of the family of God. He was blessed to have his mother April join him in celebrating the transformation that had taken place in both their hearts. The mother and son joined four others for the special baptism service Aug. 12 at the First Mount Nebo Baptist Church in Jena. “There are no words to describe the joy I felt as I watched him get baptized and then I followed,” April Paul recalled. “This day was on the level of excitement that I felt when he was born, and that experience helped make real to me the concept of rebirth that we were declaring publicly to my family and friends.” Paul credited her son’s example of stepping forward in faith with her being obedient in being baptized. She told the Baptist Message she had accepted Christ a decade earlier but had not followed through with baptism because she did not fully comprehend its importance. “When I came out of the water, I was excited that I was following through with obedience that I had been putting off for 10 years,” Paul said. “I got past the discouragement Satan was trying to … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer ALEXANDRIA (LBM) - More than 12,000 people, combined, turned out across the state to march for life on three separate weekends in January and February. According to information provided by Louisiana Right to Life, a crowd of 1,200 gathered in Baton Rouge; 5,600 assembled in Shreveport/Bossier and another 5,600 rallied in Alexandria/Pineville. “It was such blessings to witness more than 12,000 Louisiana citizens at our three Louisiana Life March events boldly proclaim that every life deserves a lifetime,” Louisiana Right to Life CENLA Coordinator Brian Gunter told the Baptist Message. “We will never stop marching until every life is protected by law and welcomed with love into our world. We pray that we will see soon the end to abortion and assistance for all mothers.” A large contingent led the procession with a “Louisiana Life March” banner. Others held up signs proclaiming “Unborn Lives Matter,” “Abortion Kills Babies” and “A True Feminist Would Fight For The Rights of Unborn Women.” Some held signs urging action by pro-lifers, such as “Be A Voice For the Voiceless” and “Stop Abortion Now.” The theme of the marches —held Jan. 20 in Baton Rouge, Jan. 27 in … [Read more...]

Gary Maroney, past president of the Louisiana Conference of Southern Baptist Evangelists, presents the Lifetime Achievement Award in Vocational Evangelism posthumously to Mark Tullos. Accepting the award was (from left) Melodye Tullos Willie (daughter), Melinda Draper (daughter) and Matt Tullos, associate director of communications and stewardship for Louisiana Baptists (son). Mark Tullos, who passed away Oct. 24, 2017, served churches in Louisiana for 65 years as an evangelist, musician and music minister. Tullos also was executive director of the Louisiana Moral and Civic Foundation. … [Read more...]