NEW ORLEANS (BP) – Famed New Orleans evangelist Bob Harrington, known by many as "the Chaplain of Bourbon Street," passed away of kidney failure on July 4 in Stigler, Okla., where he had lived the last seven years with family. He was 89. Harrington became a well-known evangelist during the 1960s and 1970s following his conversion to Christianity at age 30 in his hometown of Sweet Water, Ala. He was a popular guest on national television shows including Phil Donahue, Merv Griffin and The Tonight Show due to his one-liners and unconventional religious wit. In the 1970’s, Bob met famed atheist Madalyn Murray O’Hair. The two could not be more polar opposite people. “Yes, many may say Madalyn knows the Scriptures better than I do, but I know the author,” said Harrington. The unlikely duo toured 38 cities debating the existence of God. Harrington's eight-day crusades, first held in tents and later high school stadiums and convention centers, produced thousands of converts. In 1960, after only a few years of preaching throughout the South on flatbed trailers and in tents, Harrington moved to New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary with his wife Joyce, and daughters, Rhonda and Mitzi. During his time in seminary, Harrington … [Read more...]

By Louisiana Right to Life NEW ORLEANS - The number of abortions in Louisiana decreased by 4 percent from 2015 to 2016, according to preliminary figures provided to Louisiana Right to Life recently by the Louisiana Department of Health. It was the second straight year abortion numbers have dropped. There were 8,972 abortions performed in Louisiana in 2016, down from 9,362 abortions reported in 2015 and 10,211 abortions reported in 2014. The number of abortions performed in the state had increased steadily from 2008-2014 as population numbers returned to pre-Katrina levels. Even with numbers down nearly 14 percent since 2014, an average of 25 abortions per day were performed in Louisiana in 2016. Louisiana Right to Life will continue working hard to reduce these numbers until every baby is saved. Benjamin Clapper, Executive Director of Louisiana Right to Life, said the following on the publishing of the statistics: "Every day in Louisiana in 2016, a baby who would have been aborted in 2015 was saved. These children will savor the joys of Louisiana because of their mothers' courageous decisions to choose life.  While we are happy that fewer babies were aborted in 2016, we will continue to work until every baby is … [Read more...]

By Louisiana College sports information PINEVILLE – Louisiana College has found its next head softball coach and didn't have to look too far to find him. During a press conference Wednesday, July 5, LC President Rick Brewer and Athletic Director Reni Mason announced the hiring of former pitching and co-hitting coach Bobby Buchanan as the seventh head softball coach in school history. Buchanan most recently served as pitching and co-hitting coach at Southern University in Baton Rouge and has five year of experience as an assistant or volunteer coach at the University of North Dakota, Texas A&M – Corpus Christi, and Texas State University. "I am not only thrilled, but honored to be the new head coach of Louisiana College," Buchanan said. "We are in a power house conference  in our division where teams are in a battle nationally on the leader boards, and that means it will be a real challenge. A challenge I can't wait to experience." Primarily serving as a pitching coach, Buchanan has seen all-conference selections at both Southern and North Dakota under his tutelage, including North Dakota's first-ever All-Big Sky First Team honor. Just last season, Southern saw a 3.59 point drop in their team earned run average, … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer PINEVILLE – Kayla Jordan had not one but two extraordinary reasons to celebrate God’s gift of life at Lake Buhlow, Sunday, June 4: She had recently learned she was pregnant with her first child, due in January, and, she was among 18 people participating in a lakeside baptism service sponsored by HIS Church, Pineville. Moments after coming up out of the water, Jordan told the Baptist Message that just a few months ago she had reached a low point and realized her need to be reborn in Christ. She confessed her sins and asked God’s forgiveness, and was anxious to also make a public profession of faith through baptism. So Jordan did not hesitate to sign up to be baptized during the lakeside service. “I’m terrified of the water but somehow it didn’t seem to matter on this day,” Jordan said. “To me, this day feels like I am starting a new life. Now, with my little one on the way in January, he or she will grow up understanding their mother has a relationship with Jesus.” For Morgan Feazell, seeing her six-year-old daughter Ariel’s baptism was one of the most cherished moments in her life. “Words don’t touch how I truly feel right now,” said a teary-eyed Morgan. “Since I had … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer FLORIEN (LBM) – As he looked down the bore of a loaded gun, John Sparks felt he was barreling toward death on that fateful fall day. Wanted for first-degree murder, Sparks found himself surrounded by a SWAT team in a Salt Lake City restaurant, Aug. 17, 1977. Thankfully, the officer pointing his revolver at Sparks decided not to shoot, choosing instead to spare his life and take him into custody. Sparks eventually would land in prison, but having been reprieved from immediate death, he began a path that eventually would lead him to find eternal life in Christ. WINDING PATH “I told the guy I had taken a hostage. I told him I was going up the stairs and out the door to die,” said Sparks, now pastor of Antioch Baptist Church in Florien. “When you have nothing else left ‘good’ in life and are the bottom scum of the earth, death seems like the only option. But thanks to my grandmother who prayed I would not die until I came to Christ, I found hope in the prison cell.” Raised in church, Sparks participated in Vacation Bible School and other biblically-based activities as a young boy. However, his first sip of alcohol at age 12 (during a fishing trip) sent Sparks’ teetering down … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer NEW ORLEANS – Four months after an EF-3 tornado heavily damaged Suburban Baptist Church, the congregation assembled Sunday, June 11, for the first gathering on its campus since the storm. The message to the community during this block party was strong – the members have not given up and plan to return to full ministry in the neighborhood when their facilities are rebuilt. REUNITING & RENEWING Many of the congregants who showed up shared moments of laughter and a few thankful tears about how far God had taken them since the tornado destroyed the worship center and damaged two other buildings, Feb. 7. Myiah Scott, who joined the church a year after Hurricane Katrina wreaked havoc on the facilities in August 2005, said at first it was discouraging when she saw news footage of the damage. But, like other members, Scott knew giving up was not an option. “When a lot of the church seemed to be gone, we felt at first that we had nowhere to go and a piece of us was gone,” she said. “This is the place we go to pray, to praise God with our songs and to have a good time. But God reminded me that our church is more than a building. “I feel like God wants us to rebuild,” she … [Read more...]

Funeral services for Rev. Oda Wayne “Tuck” Roberts, age 78, are scheduled for 2 p.m. Thursday, July 6, at New Chapel Hill Baptist Church, West Monroe with Bro. Tim Post, Bro. Cal Adams, Dr. Alan Miller, Dr. Mickey Hawkins, and Bro. Werner Aswell officiating. Interment will follow in Hasley Cemetery under the direction of Golden Funeral Home of Bastrop.  Visitation will precede the service beginning at 1 p.m.. Roberts of West Monroe was born on May 22, 1939, in Okaloosa, LA. He passed away on July 4, 2017, in Monroe. “Brother Tuck” pastored Louisiana Baptist churches from 1958 until 1979. He then served in the ministry of evangelism from 1979, until the time of his death. Sept. 1, 2017, would have made sixty years of faithful service in the ministry by Roberts. He is survived by his wife of almost 56 years, Barbara Bates Roberts (his “Little Darling”); sisters, Dorothy Roberts Head(Oscar) of West Monroe, Betty Roberts Jeffress (Raymond) of Jonesboro, Sandra Kay Roberts Williams (Jerry) of Pineville; brother, Marshall Lee Roberts (LuWana) of Rexburg, Idaho. Other survivors include his “like” daughters, Mona Farley (Craig), Cindy Jeansonne (Lyle) and son Joseph Donad; and his “like” sons, Tim Post (Carmen), Cal Adams … [Read more...]

By Will Hall, Message Editor As Ricky Belgard spoke from the pulpit of Philadelphia Baptist Church at the Horseshoe Drive campus in Alexandria,  he said he was thinking of the lengthy ramp that would have been needed only seven weeks ago for him to have made it up on the platform. “Now, I’m standing on higher ground,” he celebrated. Belgard shared with the congregation that evening, June 4, how God had healed him from being bound, long-term, to a wheelchair while facing the prognosis of a slow death from the combination of two deadly conditions. LIFE OR DEATH “I have had Multiple Sclerosis for many years,” Belgard shared, “then the doctors discovered I don’t just have MS, but I have a problem in the brain stem. The brain stem controls all of your bodily functions that are supposed to be automatic -- like your breathing and your heart -- all those things you’re not supposed to think about. “Well, mine started shutting down,” he explained. “And so, four and a half years ago, I’m in the hospital and I already know what’s coming up because this disease is terminal.” BAD TO WORSE Belgard had signed a “do not resuscitate” order and despite requests by the nurses and doctors to intubate him and put him on life … [Read more...]