Click to Login or Sign Up

Baptist Message

"Helping Louisiana Baptists Impact the World For Christ"

Disaster Relief teams on alert as Red River flooding increases

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer SHREVEPORT/BOSSIER CITY – As flood waters of the Red River rise, Louisiana Baptist Disaster Relief teams are on alert to respond if needed. According to Louisiana Baptist state Disaster Relief Director Gibbie McMillan, teams originally scheduled to deploy to Oklahoma and Texas are now being kept in Louisiana in case they are activated. McMillan said they could be in areas of the state affected by recent flooding as soon as next week. “We are paused and waiting to see how much damage will take place then the teams will come in,” McMillan said. “It could be next week before we can begin work. We need people to pray for those affected and be ready to respond when the time comes. We will need places for volunteers to stay when they respond.” As of Monday, 84 homes in the Shreveport/Bossier City area were flooded, McMillan said. Streets in the area also have seen floodwater, including a small portion of the Louisiana Boardwalk in Bossier City and near the SciPort museum in Shreveport. Numerous streets also have been closed, including some off and on ramps on and in some sections of lanes on I-220 westbound. Lane Moore, director of missions for the Northwest Louisiana Baptist … [Read more...]

Louisiana Baptist Disaster Relief Teams respond to Texas floods, Oklahoma tornadoes

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer Louisiana Baptist Disaster Relief teams are responding to an area in Oklahoma devastated by a tornado in Oklahoma and a suburb of Houston, Texas, that saw historic rainfall in late May. Two mudout teams are in Missouri City, Texas, a town located about 18 miles southwest of Houston. East Fork Baptist Church in Kentwood and Coteau Baptist Church in Houma arrived in the area on Tuesday and will remain there until today. Nearly 1,800 homes were underwater in the community, according to Gibbie McMillan, Louisiana Baptist Disaster Relief state director. McMillan said the response there could take up to a year. Meanwhile, two chainsaw teams are ministering in Poteau, Okla., where a tornado destroyed six homes and damaged another 50 structures, according to LeFlore County’s emergency management. The teams from Sabine Baptist Association left on Thursday and will return the following week. McMillan said Louisiana Baptists wanting to help can do so in three ways – pray, give and go. “In a magnitude of this disaster and with this many people affected, you do what you have to do,” McMillan said. “We will stay until the job is finished.” Scottie Stice, director of Disaster Relief Ministries for … [Read more...]

Calvary Baptist sanctuary update

By Joe Dupree, Message Staff Writer ALEXANDRIA -- A place to begin again. The saying of Calvary Baptist Church in Alexandria is bringing new meaning to its proud slogan. Why? The church is currently constructing a new sanctuary that, when finished, will seat 1,558 congregants on any given Sunday. Calvary Hall is also getting a 31 percent expansion as well as a new dedicated bridal suite and 250 percent expansion of restroom facilities. Additionally, there will be a new entrance to the Calvary campus along Mohon Street. This new entrance will feature a large, covered driveway and drop-off. It will also provide a more efficient and safer access for traffic flow along the street. “Throughout Calvary’s 92 years, God has led us several times to take visionary, bold and courageous steps,” said Pastor David Brooks concerning the progress of Calvary’s growth. “The motivation for these steps has always been to reach non-believers and lead all believers to become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.” He went on to say the new worship center positions Calvary to be able to share the good news of Jesus Christ in a relevant manner for many decades to come. The estimated finish date of this new project is slated for … [Read more...]

Fred Luter named NAMB Ambassador

ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP) -- The North American Mission Board has named former Southern Baptist Convention President Fred Luter as its new national African American ambassador. In that role, Luter will focus on involving more African American churches in the SBC and in church planting. "We still have a lot of lost souls out there who aren't in anyone's church," Luter said. "One of the primary messages I'll have for pastors is to encourage them to have compassion for the lost. If we're going to be successful in church planting, that has to happen." Luter will speak on behalf of NAMB throughout the year and represent the mission board at a variety of SBC events, sharing NAMB's goal to increase the number of African American churches in the convention from 4,000 to more than 5,000 in the next five years. Luter will continue to serve as senior pastor of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans. In 2012, he became the first African American to be elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention in its 167-year history. "I am overjoyed to learn of Dr. Fred Luter's appointment," said K. Marshall Williams, pastor of Nazarene Baptist Church in Philadelphia, Pa., and president of the National African American Fellowship … [Read more...]

Message unveils a more user-friendly, redesigned website

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer ALEXANDRIA – Continuing efforts to improve its footprint on the Internet, the Baptist Message launched a redesigned website June 4 offering a variety of features making baptistmessage.com easier to navigate and a better complement to Louisiana Baptists’ newspaper. “The digital redesign is a great improvement, incorporating new features that make the online Baptist Message a better partner for the print edition,” said Will Hall, who recently joined the news journal as editor. “But also, it reflects well on the professionalism and commitment of the news staff for completing such a large change effort while in the midst of a leadership transition,” said Hall. “It’s exciting to be joining this Baptist Message team.” The new features include a more user-friendly presentation of articles, a PDF version of the print edition and an improved archives section that allows searching for articles by descending order of date whether published in print or online. Video clips may be added to articles, and users may now comment on reports and easily share stories through social media links such as Twitter and Facebook. The new website also offers new advertising possibilities. Churches, … [Read more...]

Louisiana College names Reni Mason men’s basketball head coach

By Norm Miller, Louisiana College Communications PINEVILLE --Louisiana College athletic director Dennis Dunn announced on May 30 Reni* Mason of Evangel Christian Academy in Shreveport, La., will succeed Gene Rushing as head men’s basketball coach. Mason, 44, takes the helm on June 1. “I have always viewed Louisiana College as one of the premiere coaching jobs in D3 basketball because of the respect I have for my predecessors there,” Mason told LCNews. “This is an exciting time for my family and me,” he continued. “And that’s not just because of basketball, but because of the Christ-centeredness and family atmosphere on the LC campus. Those things are very important to us as a family.” Mason brings a 154-53 record from his seven-year stint at Evangel, including three district championships and district coach of the year in 2010, 2011 and 2015, respectively. A graduate of the University of New Orleans with a B.S. in General Studies, Mason played collegiate ball at Louisiana Tech and UNO. He brings almost 30 years of experience as a player and a coach at the collegiate and pro levels alike. Mason was general manager and assistant coach of the Dodge City Legend (USBL) in Dodge City, Kansas; coached at UNO and the University of … [Read more...]

Louisiana Notables

ON THE MOVE • Michael Devillier resigned as pastor at Downsville Baptist Church • Josh Cagle new as pastor at Red River Baptist Church, Benton. • Harold Ashcraft new as music minister at Emmanuel Baptist Church, Shreveport. • Ed Baswell resigned as pastor at Clarion Baptist Church, Elm Grove. • Elijah Teh-Teh resigned as pastor at New Zion Baptist Church, Bossier City. • R. C. (wife Lilly) Flournoy new as associate pastor at Cornerstone Baptist Church, Shreveport. • Daniel Faulkner new as minister of students at Brookwood Baptist Church, Shreveport. HOMECOMING • Holloway Baptist Church, Deville: Homecoming Celebration, June 7, 10 a.m. – 12 p.m. with dinner on the grounds to follow. Speaker: Frank Shields (former pastor). Music: Melody Slocum. Pastor: Jack West. • First Baptist Church, Vidalia: Celebration Sunday, June 7, 10:30 p.m. Speaker: Dan Glenn. There will be a potluck meal after the service. Pastor: Bill McCullin. • Salem Baptist Church, Plain Dealing: Homecoming Celebration, June 12, Speaker: Don McCormick. Dinner on the grounds following services. The Palmer Family in concert at 1:30 p.m. Pastor: Eddy Taylor. LAGNIAPPE • Susan Sanson, 67, a member of Metairie Baptist Church and an International Mission Board … [Read more...]

Hebron celebrates storied past in new surroundings

By Mark H Hunter, Regional Reporter DENHAM SPRINGS – The oldest church in Livingston Parish just moved into a modern, spacious sanctuary that re-combined Hebron Baptist’s two-service congregations. The church, located just south of Denham Springs on Hwy. 16, also celebrated its 178th year with a May 3 homecoming service and, of course, dinner on the grounds – actually in the gym. “I feel like we have one congregation again,” said Joe Alain, senior pastor for the past nine years. “I kinda felt like I was pastoring two different churches. Now everything is together – which is a very positive experience.” For the past several years, due mainly to space constraints, they had been holding two services, one traditional at 8 a.m., and a contemporary service at 10:30 a.m. Now they hold one service at 10 a.m. and they have “blended” the formats as well, Alain said. “Our desire was to have the wisdom of our senior saints with the passion of our younger people,” Alain said. “Wisdom and passion together is a pretty good combination.” Founded in 1837, the congregation has met in a log cabin, a larger log-frame building, and several brick buildings until their new, $3 million, 25,000-square-foot sanctuary building was dedicated on March … [Read more...]

Horn: ‘Humbled and blown away’ by positive response to ‘ The Pledge’

By Brian Blackwell, Message Staff Writer ALEXANDRIA – Enthusiastic. Burdened. Inspired. Confident. That was the mood inside a room of more than 20 pastors from Louisiana Baptist congregations of all sizes and locations during a recent meeting in which they sought to reignite a passion for the Cooperative Program and cooperative missions through an initiative called “The Pledge.” “I need to be challenged,” said First Lafayette Pastor and current LBC President Steve Horn. “I need to be challenged in every area of my life.  If not challenged to give, we always fall back to status quo.” “We believe we can do more together than we can do by ourselves,” Horn told the May 14 meeting of 20 pastors. “And we believe in the methodology of our cooperative endeavors and our Cooperative program. It has served us well and will serve us well in the future. First announced during the Louisiana Baptist Executive Board meeting on May 5, The Pledge is a plan to challenge churches giving less than 3 percent to the Cooperative Program to move to 5 percent; churches giving between 3 and 8 percent are encouraged to increase by 2 percent; and churches giving between 8 and 9.9 percent to go to 10 percent. Churches who already give 10 percent in their … [Read more...]

Louisiana College’s Rick Brewer to grads: ‘Do hard work … and then some’

By Al Quartemont, Special to the Message PINEVILLE – The message Dr. Rick Brewer gave at the 158th commencement of the college he only recently became president of could not have been clearer. “Rebel against society’s low expectations,” Brewer told the 147 graduates of Louisiana College on Saturday, May 16. “Do hard work.” In that commencement address, Brewer not only gave the 123 undergraduates and 24 masters students a life-long charge, he may have set a tone for the future of LC, itself. “The prevalent philosophy of our culture today is, ‘I am going to do what is the least that is expected of me and try to get the most payment for it,’” Brewer said. “In other words, minimum effort for maximum return. Shoddiness and lack of extra effort should never take place in the mind of a Christ follower.” Brewer called on the students to live their lives under what he termed “The Rebekah Principle.” He used the example of Isaac’s future wife (Genesis 24), who not only served water for Abraham’s servants, but put in the extra effort to water the group’s camels, too. “After you’ve done what’s asked of you, you do a bit extra, you do even more,” Brewer said. “I’m here to tell you, we not only would see excellence in the market place, … [Read more...]