By Marilyn Stewart, Regional Reporter NEW ORLEANS (BP) - The need for Christian apologetics -- the clearing of obstacles to faith -- has never been greater, attendees were told throughout the annual Defend the Faith conference, Jan. 4-8, at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary "Every age presents unique challenges to the Christian faith," said Defend the Faith director Rhyne Putman, NOBTS assistant professor of theology and culture. "We face moral shifts in our culture, religious pluralism, other competing worldviews and assaults on religious liberty." Sponsored by the seminary's Institute for Christian Apologetics, the event was attended by more than 200 people, one-third of whom were college students from various states. Plenary sessions were streamed via the Internet for the event and its messages to have an even wider reach. One current missionary in East Asia who watched the live-streamed sessions emailed one speaker to thank him for his candid portrayal of the difficulties facing those who engage a non-Christian culture. Featured among more than two-dozen speakers were Douglas Groothuis, professor of philosophy at Denver Seminary; teaching fellow Jana Harmon with the C.S. Lewis Institute; resurrection … [Read more...]

By Message Staff ALEXANDRIA - Surrounded by family and Louisiana Baptist state missions services team members, six church planters were commissioned on Jan. 20 during the first-ever service of its kind for church planters in the state. The church planter commissioning service on Wednesday was for those who started a church since October 2015. Since then, 11 churches have been started in the state, including five in January. The goal for 2016 is to plant 30 churches in Louisiana, keeping in step with the goal to plant 300 churches by 2020. To reach that goal, 170 more churches will have to be planted between now and 2020. John Hebert, missions and ministry team leader for Louisiana Baptists, said his team is engaged in partnering with churches, associations and other Southern Baptist entities to plant healthy, culturally relevant, biblically sound, multiplying churches that seek to fulfill the Great Commission. “At the spearhead of this effort is the work of our Church planters,” he said during the commissioning service. “Today these church planters have come before this assembly to receive the blessing and commissioning and commitment of Louisiana Baptists’ support. God has called them to serve in places across our … [Read more...]

By Message Staff In the Dec. 17, 2015 issue of the Baptist Message, we introduced you to a Louisiana Baptist couple in Covington who coordinates and delivers shipping containers to children in the Ukraine at Christmas. Each container has clothes, food, much needed medicine, building material, mattresses and vitamins. The shipping containers are 40-ft-long, 8-ft wide and 9-ft high. Most of the containers are delivered to southern Romania where living conditions are much worse than other parts of the country. Johnny Huffman, who along with his wife Sissie spearheads the project, e-mailed the Message on Jan. 19 with an update on the project. The couple’s ministry is Fairhaven Hope Ministries, located just 10 miles outside of Covington in rural southeast Louisiana. “I sometimes think of the old song ‘I Stand Amazed in His Presence’ for I see Him working His presence in so many ways each day,” he wrote. “Attached you see a few of the pictures that I received from Romania of children receiving some of the Christmas boxes that many of you had a part in. As I was looking at the pictures, I was thinking ‘Only Jesus could have put together all the people it took to accomplish these children having these gifts’. It was His presence … [Read more...]

By Tom Strode, Baptist Press NASHVILLE (BP) - The Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission has unveiled its new Leadership Council. The 43 Southern Baptist pastors and leaders who were announced Thursday (Jan. 14) will serve as the advisory council for the entity's Leadership Network in 2016. The ERLC launched the network and its advisory council in 2014. Each January, the entity names a new list of council members, most of whom serve for one year. The Leadership Network is open to men and women who seek to identify with the ERLC's Gospel-focused approach to cultural issues in their roles as pastors, leaders or laypeople. Council members - all who are serving or have served in pastoral ministry - will receive equipping from the ERLC staff and give guidance to the network. They also may provide content for the entity's website. ERLC President Russell Moore said he is "thrilled to welcome this group of Gospel-focused, innovative band of pastors and leaders" to the council. "As we come alongside one another, we'll talk about crucial ethical issues confronting churches and how we can engage with a Gospel-focus in the culture and in the public square," Moore said in a written release. "We'll think … [Read more...]

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer WOODWORTH – Louisiana Baptist leaders are optimistic the new Georgia Barnette Conference Center will open its door in two months, more than two years after the first dollars were donated for its construction. But for that to happen, favorable weather conditions and additional volunteers are needed. “We are so thankful for all the people who have volunteered so far,” said Julia Parker, volunteer coordinator for Louisiana Baptists. “We still have much work to be done but we need help. We are constantly looking for volunteers. If you could please come and help us, volunteer, we would appreciate it.” Once complete, the 8,400-square-foot center on the grounds of Tall Timbers Conference Center in Woodworth will have six small group rooms and a large auditorium that can be arranged for up to 600 participants. Also included will be a state-of-the-art sound system and lighting. With the exception of professional contractors who poured the concrete slab June 29, work on the project has been comprised entirely of volunteers, including a group comprised of volunteers from the Louisiana Baptist Building, Louisiana Baptist Foundation and Baptist Message who pitched in to help Jan. … [Read more...]

By Mark H. Hunter, Regional Reporter BATON ROUGE - The day after President Barack Obama delivered his last State of the Union speech, evangelist Franklin Graham on Wednesday told an estimated 3,000 to 4,000 people packed into the North Boulevard Town Square, “the state of the union is broken.” Graham is preaching in all 50 states in the coming months, calling America back to biblical values, encouraging Christians to stand firm for their faith and to get involved in the political process as part of his “Decision America Tour.” Baton Rouge was third stop on the schedule where, in most places they are holding rallies on the state’s capitol steps. “We’re here today because we see that our nation is in trouble - that’s the state of the union,” Graham declared as the crowd cheered and many waved miniature American flags. “We are in trouble spiritually, racially, economically and we’re in trouble politically. No political party is going to be able to turn this thing around - only God can fix it.” “I have zero hope in the Democratic party,” he said as the crowd cheered, adding, “but before you Republicans start hi-fiving each other - I have zero hope in the Republican party - or any other political parties.“ The crowd cheered … [Read more...]

By Spc. Joshua Barnett, Louisiana National Guard Public Affairs Office NEW ORLEANS – Approximately 300 Louisiana National Guardsmen continue working across the state to build protective barriers against the approaching flood waters and to patrol levees in support of local, parish and state officials at the request of the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness. The 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team has installed more than 2.3 miles of HESCO barriers and is currently filling them with sand to create a levee on Avoca Island to prevent backwater flooding from reaching Morgan City and other towns in south Louisiana. “We had a hard night, it was very cold, it was muddy, but out Soldiers were motivated,” said Lt. Col. Rich Hanes, executive officer, 256th IBCT. “They stayed up all night with no complaints. I’m very proud of them. They’re hard working, great Soldiers and great Americans.” The levee project is part of a larger effort designed to prevent high water from the Atchafalaya River from travelling through Bayou Chene, over Avoca Island and into the Intracoastal Waterway, where it could flood Morgan City and other towns. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is working to seal off the waterway, … [Read more...]