By William H. Perkins, Jr., Mississippi Baptist Record JACKSON, Miss. (BP) – Jim Futral, executive director of the Mississippi Baptist Convention Board, has issued a call to prayer on Sunday, May 15, for the victims of the recent deadly tornadoes throughout the South. “I am going to ask for what many of you have already done ... and that is to have a special time of prayer for our storm-ravaged state and region. I am going to ask you to pray for families who are grieving and seeking to recover from the loss of a family member, maybe a child,” Futral wrote in a column for The Baptist Record. “For others it may be the loss of a mom or dad, and for some it may be a brother or a sister.” Futral asked Mississippi Baptists to pray for people who have lost homes, businesses, possessions and irreplaceable memories. “Pray for church families that day after day continue to try their best to carry others’ burdens. Pray for our responders, those who are first responders, and those who are continuing to respond because of the enormity of the need and the continuing storms that come,” he wrote. “Fatigue that is physical, mental and emotional sets in, and they need help and encouragement.” Mississippi Baptists are in the midst of the … [Read more...]

By Frank McCormack, NOBTS Communications   [img_assist|nid=7319|title=Leading Chapel|desc=At an April chapel at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, Angola Prison inmate Daryl Waters shared a powerful testimony of how God is using him as a minister of the Gospel inside the prison.|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=72]NEW ORLEANS (BP) – Warden Burl Cain and several current and former members of the Louisiana State Penitentiary prison program led chapel at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary in April, giving the seminary community a firsthand glimpse into the spiritual impact of the program.   Chuck Kelley, the seminary’s president, said the Angola program can be traced to Cain’s vision and faith.   “It was about 16 years ago when a Baptist layman took his faith to work,” Kelley said. “His work happened to be serving as warden of Angola, the Louisiana State Penitentiary, the largest maximum security prison in the United States, ... known as the bloodiest prison in America.”       Despite that reputation, Cain believed in the power of the Gospel to change lives, Kelley said.   “He had a deep-seated conviction in the power and possibility of moral … [Read more...]

By Karen L. Willoughby, Managing Editor [img_assist|nid=7322|title=Mighty Mississippi|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=75]KROTZ SPRINGS – James Irvine Jr., a member of Pine Ridge Baptist Church in Melder and trained in a variety of Disaster Relief situations, was among the first DR volunteers called out in Louisiana to respond to needs as a result of flooding from Lake Providence to the Gulf of Mexico. He took a shower/laundry unit to Krotz Springs May 7, to support the 160 National Guard personnel stationed there to keep watch on the levees for any weaknesses that could result in a breach. “The unit I got is highly efficient,” Irvine said on May 21. “I can run the whole unit on two 110-volt plugs – house current. That’s the air conditioner, washer, dryer and the water heater.” Irvine, also trained as a DR chaplain, sleeps on the floor in the Krotz Springs community center with the citizen soldiers. “I’m very adaptable,” Irvine said. “They wash their own clothes. I just kind of keep watch. … I’ve had some good experiences and results so far.” [img_assist|nid=7323|title=Mighty Mississippi|desc=The swollen Mississippi River runs under the twin bridges that separate Natchez, Miss., and Vidalia. The river has flooded … [Read more...]

By Al Quartemont, Special to the Message   [img_assist|nid=7325|title=LC Spring Commencement|desc=LC senior Kameryn Lueng sings His Eye is on the Sparrow at the school’s Spring commencement on May 14.|link=none|align=left|width=100|height=66]PINEVILLE – The vision that Louisiana College President Joe Aguillard repeatedly expresses is one that sees the college’s graduates impacting the world for Jesus Christ.   On Saturday, May 14, LC sent 175 new graduates out to do just that. The 150th commencement ceremony saw 152 undergraduates, plus 23 with a Master of Arts in Teaching, receive their degrees.   The embracing of that vision was perhaps best summed up by Senior Justin Baily in his invocation prayer.   “After the last word is spoken, and we walk through those doors, give us the desire to fulfill the mission of Louisiana College,” Baily said. “To change the world for Your glory empowered by the Holy Spirit through Christ.”   LC’s commencement ceremony featured a number of significant spiritual moments, not the least of which was a stirring acapella performance of senior Kameryn Lueng singing, “His Eye is on the Sparrow.”   [img_assist|nid=7327|title=Celebrating … [Read more...]

By Kelly Boggs, Editor Baptist Message   Editors note: This column contains language that some readers may find offensive.   Picture this: Women taking to the streets to march en masse. Many are scantily clad in an apparent effort to illustrate a point. The purpose of the procession: to proclaim they are proud to be known as “sluts.”   It’s not a scene from some vapid pornography film. It is a recent phenomenon cropping up all over North America known as a “slut walk.”   The fad began in Toronto and was in response to a police officer’s comments made during a personal safety class to female students at York University. “Women should avoid dressing like sluts in order to not be victimized,” the officer advised.   Though the officer later apologized, some women in the Toronto area believed the officer had suggested a victim of sexual assault could be responsible for an attack based on dress or perceived lifestyle, the Associated Press reported. As a result, hundreds of women in Toronto took to the streets to express their “pride”   Participants believe that by simply asserting a woman should not be sexually assaulted because she is dressed provocatively will somehow … [Read more...]

By David E. Hankins, Executive Director of the Louisiana Baptist Convention   Our church service last Sunday involved recognition of those who had graduated from high school and college. A number of our LBC building staff had children in that group. I was impressed with the many accomplishments of these young men and women, and rejoiced with their families on both their achievements and their plans for the future. These occasions ought to make us grateful and prayerful.   The service also caused me to think of my oldest grandson who will be receiving his high school diploma in a couple of weeks in South Carolina. That child has been a joy to me for nearly nineteen years. He was born in Lake Charles while I was a pastor there and I was so excited about him that I filled my sermons with news of his every move. One friendly church member asked if I were going to talk about Drew every Sunday. I replied, “It’s only once a week.” I still talk about him, as this article demonstrates. (I have pictures, too).   Although, like most grandparents, I am proud of his academic, social, and athletic achievements, my greatest joy comes from Drew’s strong commitment to the Lord Jesus. God has called him to preach … [Read more...]

By Steve Lemke, Provost at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary   The most insightful article I have ever read on pastoral leadership was written years ago by Calvin Miller in Leadership Journal.  Entitled “Growing Pains,” it is crucial reading for every pastor.   In it, my old racquetball partner Calvin Miller (he might look nice, but he’s mean on a racquetball court!) surveys the changes in his own leadership style that were required as he led Westside Baptist Church in Omaha from being a church plant with a half dozen families to a megachurch.   The first stage, while it was a church plant begun by a half dozen couples, Miller describes as the “You Get the Pizza, and I’ll Bring the Guitar” stage.  Every charter member had immediate and virtually unlimited access to the Pastor for counsel on any issue or answers to any questions.  Everyone knew all the details about the church, and was involved in every decision the church made.  Fellowship was the hallmark of this almost cliquish group.  Everyone knew each other intimately, and there were many times of fellowship at the Pizza Hut after church or at the Pastor’s house.   As the church began to grow, Miller found himself in the … [Read more...]

By Archie England, NOBTS Professor of Hebrew and Old Testament   Question: What happened to the rest of Solomon’s 3,000 proverbs (cf. 1 Kings 4:32)?   Archie England responds: Added together, there are 1,015 verses in the Book of Proverbs. Assuming that each verse (and that’s not the best assumption) equals a proverb would leave nearly 2,000 proverbial sayings unaccounted.   More interestingly, the current form of the Book of Proverbs reflects a three part structure: (1) chapters 1-9 are a single literary unit that compare and contrast Wisdom and Folly; (2) chapters 10-24, entitled as “the proverbs of Solomon,” consist of mostly short, proverbial sayings; and (3) a final three sections attributed to a) proverbs of Solomon preserved (or transmitted) by Hezekiah’s men, chapters 25-29;  b) the words of Agur, chp. 30; and c) the words of King Lemuel, chapter 31.   Such structure exposes us to a wealth of differently styled proverbial sayings, and it further indicates that some three hundred years after Solomon, his sayings were still being preserved, copied, and arranged (25:1).   So, is this a problem? Not at all. Consider for instance that 1 Kings 4:32 informs us that Solomon … [Read more...]

By Jerry Love, Louisiana Baptist Foundation   ALEXANDRIA – After posting positive returns for the year 2010, the Louisiana Baptist Foundation continued with positive earnings in the first quarter of 2011. This news greeted the Foundation’s Board of Trustees in their quarterly meeting held on April 26 at the Baptist Building.   The investment committee met during the early part of the morning and discussed the various LBF portfolios.  Lee Morris with Graystone Consulting presented the Foundation’s performance returns and gave an economic outlook for the coming months.   As of the quarter ending March 31, 2011, the LBF equity fund gained 5.27 percent, with the Fixed Income Fund posting a slight 0.92 percent increase. The Group Investment Fund, which is a blend of the Equity Fund and Fixed Income Fund along with smaller amounts invested in other market segments, returned 3.09 percent for the quarter. The Group Investment Fund is the main vehicle for investing long term endowment money.   In his report on general economic conditions, Morris relayed that his firm’s analysts feel that the longer-term prospects for multi-year global business expansion are good.  Also they feel that the U.S. … [Read more...]

By Karen L. Willoughby, Managing Editor   JENNINGS – Youth from a dozen or more churches plan to go on mission this summer.   They’re not going out of state or out of the country. They’re going to minister in Jefferson Davis Parish. For most, it’s their figurative “back yard.”   “About a year ago, several of us got to talking,” said Blaine St. Germain, associate pastor at Bethel Baptist Church in Jennings, referring to a group of people who lead youth. “We felt like – Ephesians 4 – our job as ministers is to equip the saints for ministry. We do all these other things [mission projects elsewhere], but are we equipping our students to do the work of a minister?   “We decided we needed to do things – train and equip them to do this as a part of life – that they would develop a lifestyle of mission work,” St. Germain continued. “The whole concept of the 410 Project is being the church, showing the community the love of Christ outside the four walls of the church.”   The 410 project – the name comes from 1 Peter 4:10 – is set to take place June 13-16. Teens – junior high and high school students – will pay $100 each for food, lodging, morning devotions and training, plus evening … [Read more...]