By Holly Jo Linzay, Regional Reporter PINEVILLE – Imagine if you only had just one month to live. Would you spend the time to please yourself or make a lasting impact after you have gone? Maddi Stennett, a 17-year-old junior from First Baptist Church, Covington, posed the question in her speech during the State Youth & High School Bible Drill and Speakers’ Tournament April 29 at First Baptist Church, Pineville. Stennett, who placed first in the 11th-grade competition, received a $4,500 annual college scholarship. Although it was her first year to compete in the tournament, Stennett said the experience has impacted her life by inspiring her to share her faith in Christ more openly. “I want to share my faith with an urgency now,” Stennett said, adding that the months of preparation for the tournament made her grow spiritually. “It made me think in a way that I don’t normally think. I think, ‘Is my life lining up to what I’m telling people?’ I can’t tell people about Jesus, without living for Him,” she added. “One month to live” was one of 15 different topics participants in the Speakers’ Tournament could select to prepare a 4 to 6 minute speech. About 360 children and youth competed in the annual State Bible … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer WOODWORTH – Although no formal report was given on headway made toward the goals outlined in the Report of the President’s 2020 Commission, approved by Louisiana Baptists in 2013, observers did comment on one sign of progress that was apparent during the Executive Board reports, but not formally noted from the floor. Louisiana Baptists Church Planting Director James Jenkins told the Baptist Message that for the first time three black committee chairmen gave reports to the Executive Board: Jeffery Friend, pastor of Suburban Baptist Church in New Orleans, delivered the Missions Support Committee report; Lee Wesley, pastor of Community Bible Baptist Church in Baton Rouge, gave a report from the Convention’s Committee on Nominations; and George Guillory, pastor of Glen Oaks Baptist Church in Baton Rouge, shared the Properties Committee report. Moreover, he beamed at how natural this historic precedence took place, without fanfare or hint of tokenism, just the result of an intentional focus on reaching every people group. “This is an exciting and historic time because it shows the Louisiana Baptist Convention is moving into the future. It represents who we are becoming as a state,” … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer WOODWORTH – With its first enrollment increase in five years, Louisiana College is optimistic it may reach its goal of a 1,500-strong student body by 2020, school President Rick Brewer told Louisiana Baptist Convention Executive Board members, May 3. “The bleeding has stopped,” Brewer said during the board’s spring meeting. “Finally we had our first uptick.” The school experienced a 14.5 percent year-to-year increase in freshmen and transfer student enrollment, enrolling 255 new freshmen and 61 transfer students in 2016. The college’s new Certificate in Pastoral Ministry and Missiology program also enrolled 21 new students, but they are not reflected in the 14.5 percent increase. Overall headcount was up 1.5 percent from 1,109 to 1,126, and dormitory occupancy is up by 6.5 percent. Brewer also announced that early signs indicate enrollment will be even better this year. “It looks promising moving forward,” he said, particularly with new scholarships, infrastructure improvements and strategic marketing strategies. He said more incoming freshmen and transfer students attended the “Front Of The Line” event – designed to better acclimate students to campus life – this spring … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer WOODWORTH – Jared Greer, a former contestant on the TV show American Ninja Warrior, had just breezed through the obstacle course at Tall Timbers Baptist Conference Center. He stopped and posed a question to the crowd, the largest to ever attend an event at the center, “Have you overcome the ultimate obstacle in life? “Today is all about overcoming obstacles,” Greer told more than 600 children and adults at Missions Jamboree, also known as M-JAM, Saturday, May 6. “You can overcome any obstacle with Jesus. He overcame the biggest obstacle – death,” he continued. “Do you believe Jesus to forgive you? Have you asked Him to do that?” In the end, a dozen children indicated their desire to follow Christ. Since May 2016, Greer has traveled the country telling his story about how God has allowed him to use his skills displayed on the TV show to share the Gospel. He told the kids, first through sixth graders, Saturday that when he did not complete the obstacle course on the show in 2014, he felt crushed and defeated. “I was so frustrated and God whispered to me what do you do when you fall down?” he said. “You get back up.” In 2015, Greer was allowed a second chance at … [Read more...]

By Message Staff ALEXANDRIA – Louisiana College bestowed degrees to 114 graduates and awarded Pineville Mayor Clarence Fields an honorary doctorate for public administration during its commencement May 6 at Calvary Baptist Church in Alexandria. The school gave 33 students degrees with honors, seven as cum laude with a 3.5 GPA, 15 as magna cum laude with a 3.7 GPA, seven as summa cum laude with a 3.9 GPA, and four graduated with a 4.0 GPA. “I can say with confidence that these young people are the leaders of the 21st Century,” noted Brewer, referring to LC’s entire Class of 2017. Before Fields’ keynote address, Brewer read a resolution noting the mayor’s leadership, civic commitment and numerous accolades, noting the school has a wonderful relationship with the city of Pineville. In his keynote address, Fields challenged the graduates to be servant leaders. “In today’s world traditional leadership is about my goal, my dream, my vision, my ideas,” he said. “But servant leadership is bout empowering others. And it’s about a jointly owned dream and vision and it celebrates the ideas of others. Servant leaders are more others focused than me focused.” Fields encouraged the graduates to follow the greatest example … [Read more...]

By Joe McKeever JACKSON, Miss. (BP) – Most pastors I’ve known have admitted that they were particularly blessed by their mothers. I certainly was. Lois Jane Kilgore McKeever grew up in church, met my dad when she and her sister were singing in church, and kept her six children in church until they were grown. Of her four sons, two became preachers. Ron and Joe (me) together have logged more than a hundred years serving the Lord. In those early years Mom got no encouragement from her husband (my wonderful dad), but she had us all ready on Saturday nights. My older brothers would pull out that number 2-1/2 washtub and fill it up. We all bathed in the same water. The joke was that the last kid died in quicksand. Sunday mornings, we would walk a mile from our house to the church. We were poor, but we were freshly scrubbed and our clothes were clean. Lois McKeever was forever cooking and washing clothes and cleaning house. She kept the radio on to gospel singing and preaching, and could sing the prettiest alto you will ever hear. When I was 7, we moved from rural Alabama to the coal fields of West Virginia. The one church in the mining camp was Methodist, and that’s where we went. I was too young to notice these … [Read more...]

PINEVILLE (LCNews) - Louisiana College President Rick Brewer has promoted Norm Miller to vice president for communications and integrative marketing, effective immediately. Originally employed in August 2014 for the communications and marketing role, Miller maintained that role as assistant to President Brewer within two months of his arrival at LC in April 2015. “Norm brings to our efforts at Louisiana College decades of journalism and public relations experience, as well as life-long affiliation with Southern Baptist churches,” Brewer said. “With his years of professional experience, he understands the goals of Christian higher education and the aspirations of Christian parents who want the most for their college-bound children.” Miller’s responsibilities include oversight of the College’s external communications, website and social media, as well as multi-media advertising and internal communications support related to other LC initiatives. “In my years of professional experience, few, if any leader I have met or served demonstrates such a high level of integrity as Dr. Brewer,” Miller said. “For Dr. Brewer, integrity is not an article of clothing to be donned as a situation may demand, but is what defines him as a … [Read more...]

By Will Hall, Message Editor WOODWORTH – The Louisiana Baptist Convention Executive Board has forwarded a letter to the Ethics and Religious Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention acknowledging an apology from the ERLC trustee officers and Russell Moore, the embattled president of the entity, relating to the rift Moore created in the Southern Baptist Convention. The letter is a balance of firmly stated counsel and an attempt “to look for a positive, rather than punitive ways to work with the ERLC going forward,” following a second statement issued by Moore that was more direct than his first attempt in apologizing for controversies that led to a motion, made at the 2016 LBC Annual Meeting by Clark Stewart, pastor of New Zion Baptist Church in Covington, to “study the recent actions of the SBC Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission with regard to issues of concern to Louisiana Baptists.” The letter cites Moore’s latest statement as “key in helping the Louisiana Baptist Convention Executive Board arrive at a proper response to the referred motion.” BACKGROUND Moore was a strident opponent of then-candidate Donald J. Trump, and he castigated Trump’s evangelical supporters, calling them drunks and “doctrinally … [Read more...]

Two Louisiana Baptist Disaster Relief teams have been activated to respond to storms that rolled through the state Wednesday, May 3. A team from Live Oak Baptist Church in Watson and another from Many are traveling to Mamou to help with clean up in the aftermath of heavy flooding in the area. The Many team will work today (May 4) in Mamou while the Live Oak team will arrive tomorrow (May 5). Louisiana Baptist Disaster Relief State Director Gibbie McMillan said he had not received any reports of churches damaged from Wednesday’s storms. The storm produced heavy rainfall in the state Wednesday. According to the National Weather Service, several daily rainfall records were set, including Lake Charles, which received 5.49 inches of rain, breaking the 2000 record of 4.16 inches;  New Iberia reported 4.93 inches of rain, more than the 4.16 inches in 2000; and Lafayette had at least 4.25 inches of rain, surpassing the record of 2.89 inches. Among the largest amounts were nearly 11 inches that fell in the Moss Bluff area and more than 10 inches south of Kinder. Golf ball-sized hail was reported in Allen and Rapides parishes and one inch hail was recorded in Vermillion Parish, according to the National Weather Service. High … [Read more...]

NATCHITOCHES - Rose Long, who was a prominent figure in Louisiana Baptist life, a national advocate for the unborn and a person of spiritual influence among state lawmakers, passed away April 30, at the age of 69. She was married for 50 years to Gerald Long, the president pro tempore of the Louisiana Senate, and the couple had three children, nine grandsons and one granddaughter. Rose Long served as chair of the Louisiana Baptist Moral and Social Concerns Committee in 2016, advocating for the protection of children from pornography, the moral rehabilitation of prisoners and the rescue and protection of women and children from human trafficking. She was a founding member of the Crisis Pregnancy Center in Rogers, Arkansas, a founding board member and first director of Life Choices in Ruston, Louisiana, and a board member and president of Women’s Resource Center in Natchitoches. Additionally, she chaired the Governor’s Prayer Breakfast Committee and likewise led the Louisiana Legends committee for Louisiana Public Broadcasting. The couple mentored college students, coaches and students through the 18 years they were involved with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. She also led Bible study groups among women … [Read more...]