By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA – As he visited with homeowners affected by a powerful tornado that badly damaged more than 200 homes in LaPlace, Gibbie McMillan, Louisiana Baptist Disaster Relief director, was reminded again of why Louisiana Baptist Disaster Relief exists – to show the love of Christ in a tragic situation. Among those he met was Pat Murphy, a single woman living alone in the LaPlace area. When McMillan arrived on the scene, Murphy’s two sisters were being assisted by a disaster relief team in removing debris from her yard. “She moved to LaPlace after Hurricane Katrina where she lost her home in New Orleans,” McMillan said. “She wept as the team prayed with her and her sisters.” Murphy was served by a large team of Louisiana Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers from throughout the state. Hours after a series of tornadoes touched down in a number of southeast Louisiana communities, the disaster relief teams were on standby, ready for activation. At least 12 tornadoes touched down in the state Feb. 23, the National Weather Service confirmed. Convent, LaPlace, Paincourtville and Livingston Parish sustained the most significant damage with winds of 111-135 miles per hour … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer MONROE – Under construction for the last seven months, a new cottage -- the first in 40 years -- is ready to be unveiled according to Louisiana Baptist Children’s Home President and CEO Perry Hancock. Designed to provide trastional living for women and their children as they prepare for independent living, the cottage is scheduled to be dedicated April 22 at 10:30 a.m. Hancock informed trustees as the Home’s spring board meeting. The HomePlace Cottages, which are located at Martin Village, provide homeless women and their children housing for up to one year at no cost to the residents. While there, the women receive training for a high school equivalency degree and are given life and employment skills training through the Christian Women’s Job Corps. Two more cottages are planned for the near future as additional funds become available. Proceeds from the Brenda Hall Abney Golf Classic, sponsored by Roy O. Martin Lumber Company in Alexandria, is the major funding source for the cottages. Hancock said he had received numerous comments about the positive impact the HomePlace ministry has made on the women. “Many of our churches are providing support for the women,” … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer ALEXANDRIA – Despite news reports and surveys saying the Millennial generation is not committed to the church, Michael Wood came away encouraged by this generation of students attending the recent Collegiate Evangelism Conference. “I’m so encouraged hearing from so many of you who have put your yes on the table,” Wood told a crowd of around 700, mostly college students from Baptist Collegiate Ministries throughout the state. “Whatever it is, the answer is yes. Wherever it takes me, the answer is yes.” Wood, who is pastor at First Baptist Church in West Monroe, challenged the students throughout the two-day conference at Calvary Baptist Church in Alexandria to make a difference for Christ in the near and far places. Citing Nehemiah 2:8, Wood said the prophet Nehemiah was presented with a mission to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. He said Nehemiah realized what his mission was after four months of praying and fasting and thus approached the king to seek permission and funding to carry out the task. “Rebuilt walls stand on the foundation of God’s presence and power,” Wood said. “And they are framed with a clear mission.” Likewise, students are tasked with a similar … [Read more...]

ON THE MOVE Matt Duff resigns as Worship leader at Vidalia First Baptist Church. Taylor Freeland is new as pastor at Tillou Baptist Church, Bastrop. Bill Haley is new as music minister at Clark Springs Baptist Church, Eros. Charles Dupree resigned as pastor at New Chapel Hill Baptist Church, West Monroe. HOMECOMING Cotile Baptist Church, Boyce: 34th Annual Homecoming, March 13, 11 a.m. Speaker: Braden Martin. Paul’s Journey will be in concert at 1:30 p.m. A love offering will be taken. The church is located at 8735 Hwy 1200, Boyce, LA. Pastor: Johnny Miller. Calvary Baptist Church, Slidell: 55th anniversary, March 13, 11 a.m. There will be a luncheon after the services. Pastor: Arron McGuffee. Trinity Baptist Church, Oak Grove: 54th anniversary, March 13. This will also begin our Spring Revival, March 13-16, Sunday, 10:15 a.m.; Sunday evening, 6 p.m., and Monday-Wednesday, 6:30 p.m. Evangelist: Bill Robertson. Music: Ben Waites will provide music Sunday morning while Richard Ainsworth will direct music Sunday evening through Wednesday. Pastor: Rayburn McLarrin. REVIVAL Cotile Baptist Church, Boyce: Revival, March 10-12, 7 p.m. Speaker: Braden Martin. Pastor: Johnny Miller. First Baptist Church, … [Read more...]

By Marilyn Stewart, NOBTS Communications NEW ORLEANS – New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary preaching professor Dennis Phelps is serving as the 2015-2016 president of the Evangelical Homiletics Society. EHS promotes the exchange of ideas related to instruction in biblical preaching, academic publication in homiletics and the effective communication of the Gospel from a biblical-theological standpoint. Phelps joined the NOBTS faculty in 2006 and occupies the J.D. Grey Chair of Preaching. He has 19 years in theological education, including 10 at Bethel Seminary in St. Paul, Minn., and more than 21 years in pastoral ministry. In addition to his teaching duties, Phelps also leads the alumni relations office at NOBTS. Phelps is a frequent guest presenter at preaching conferences, including a pastors’ preaching and evangelism conference in Belarus, and has appeared regularly at the E-4 Preaching Conference, a collaborative expository preaching conference hosted by the Louisiana Baptist Convention, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, New Orleans Seminary and Louisiana College. EHS will mark its 20-year anniversary when it convenes in October at Southwestern Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. Phelps assumed EHS’ … [Read more...]

By Message Staff PINEVILLE – God speaks to Christians in many ways and places. What comes next is a simple but challenging requirement … saying yes to God, no matter what the cost. “God speaks to us in all sorts of places, in all sorts of ways,” Kevin Adams told Louisiana College students and others on Wednesday evening. “And the challenge for us tonight is, are we going to say yes Lord.” Adams’ message was part of a three-day Joseph Willis Symposium and Revival that ends tonight at LC. Adams is pastor of East Baptist Church in Lynn, Mass., and a Welsh revival historian. During his three days at LC, Adams has spoken each night during the revival, as well as in chapel and classes on campus. He also was part of a panel discussion Wednesday evening, March 2, about the subject of revival. Among his topics during the symposium was how God used 26-year-old Evan Roberts to spread revival in 1904 in Wales. The revival resulted in 100,000 people coming to accept Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. He emphasized to the crowd, which consisted mostly of LC students, that not all of them will have a testimony like Roberts. But having a testimony, he told the audience, is important because it can make a difference … [Read more...]

By Staff, Baptist Message WASHINGTON, D.C. – A sharply divided U.S. Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments in an abortion rights case that could have far-reaching implications not only in Texas but also a number of other states including Louisiana. The high court is hearing a challenge to a Texas abortion law, enacted in 2013, that requires doctors who perform abortions to having admitting privileges at nearby hospitals and prohibits clinics from providing abortions unless they meet the standards of outpatient or ambulatory surgical centers. The high court heard the arguments with only eight justices, because of the recent death of Associate Justice Antonin Scalia, a leader of the conservative wing for nearly three decades. Scalia, 79, was found dead Feb. 13. The court's new alignment makes a 4-4 split in this case a possibility. If the court were to divide evenly, it would result in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals' decision upholding the state law remaining in effect in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. A tie, however, would not establish a precedent and not be controlling in the rest of the country. Benjamin Clapper, executive director of Louisiana Right to Life, issued the following statement March 2 after … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer SHREVEPORT/BOSSIER CITY – Two multi-denominational, pro-life prayer vigils are scheduled for March 12 -- one at a former abortion clinic in Bossier City and another in Shreveport, which is one of only two remaining clinics still perform abortions in the state. The goal of the vigils, according to co-organizer Brian Gunter, pastor of First Baptist Church Pollock, is to bring together different denominations and groups from around the state to pray peacefully for all abortions to end in Louisiana. “My goal is when we get to the Shreveport clinic we would have the sidewalk surrounding the building with a line of people hand-in-hand, shoulder-to-shoulder praying,” said Gunter. “We need to pray the Supreme Court will uphold the Fifth Circuit’s ruling. We need to pray God would change the heart of the doctor performing abortions inside the Shreveport clinic. And we need to pray God would cleanse our state of the blight of abortion.” Chris Davis, director of 40 Days for Life in Shreveport-Bossier, is also an organizer. The first vigil begins at 10 a.m. at 1505 Doctors Drive in Bossier City, the site of Bossier City Medical Suite. At the completion of the first vigil, the group will … [Read more...]

By Al Quartemont NASHVILLE (LCNews) – The Louisiana College Department of Convergence Media completed another successful year at the National Religious Broadcasters Convention by winning several awards in the annual iNRB student competition. Highlighting this year’s performance was a third straight first-place finish for LC’s 24-Hour Digital News Challenge team. The team consisted of Steven Maxwell (Fairview), Gracie Carson (Pineville), Addyson Baden (Pineville) and Todd Ryals (Pensacola, Fla.). The team had 24 hours to create a seven-minute news block highlighting the news surrounding the NRB convention. Maxwell, a senior, was the lone returning member from the 2015 DNC team, and his leadership played a key role in the win, as Carson, Baden and Ryals were all making their first trips to Nashville to compete. “I was really proud of our whole team,” Maxwell said. “They really stepped up and surprised me, considering they had never done this competition before. We’re just really proud and honored to carry on the tradition that Wildcats Media began three years ago here at NRB.” Maxwell, along with junior Hannah Fleming (New Iberia, Louisiana), also took first place in the Television News – Studio Production category of … [Read more...]

By East Texas Baptist University communications MARSHALL, Texas (2/27/16) – Students from Louisiana are eligible for a $1,000 scholarship to attend East Texas Baptist University in Marshall, Texas. ETBU President Dr. J. Blair Blackburn announced the creation of the Louisiana Educational Advantage Program (LEAP).  The program offers students from Louisiana a $1,000 scholarship to attend the Christian university for the 2016-2017 academic year. The LEAP program will provide $4,000 over four years to help a student from Louisiana to attend ETBU. Eligible Louisiana students may also qualify for scholarships up to $15,000 annually through ETBU's Academic Excellence Scholarship and Christian Leadership Scholarship programs. ETBU President Dr. Blackburn stated, “I’m a proud native of Minden, Louisiana, and I love my home state! I am thrilled to announce the creation of the Louisiana Educational Advantage Program. We are located just across the border and we welcome students from Louisiana to enroll at East Texas Baptist University in order to prepare for the calling and career God has for their lives. We believe God calls each of us to serve our local community and we would love for students from Louisiana to step across the border … [Read more...]