Early morning clouds gave way to dappled sunlight streaming through this city’s namesake tall trees about 11 a.m. Feb. 22. Some took the good weather as a sign of God’s blessing.       PINEVILLE – Early morning clouds gave way to dappled sunlight streaming through this city’s namesake tall trees about 11 a.m. Feb. 22. Some took the good weather as a sign of God’s blessing.   Others saw God’s hand in a series of events over the last several months that resulted in the reason about 150 people gathered on ground strewn with pine straw and last fall’s leaves. The mayors of Pine-ville and Ball were on hand, as were several city councilmen, a candidate for sheriff, and members of three trustee boards: Christian Oasis, Donahue Family Church and Cenla Christian Academy.   The entire student body of what is known as "CCA – home of the Lions" also was on hand as various dignitaries turned dirt with shovels painted gold for the occasion: groundbreaking for what could be a $50 million or more campus for the school.   "This is the future of our kids," said Keith Perkins, a member of Donahue Family watching the activity. "This is the future of our country."   The short version of the story is that Christian Oasis ministry … [Read more...]

Gerri Captain does whatever it takes to serve the young mothers and their children living in poverty here. LAKE CHARLES – Gerri Captain does whatever it takes to serve the young mothers and their children living in poverty here.   Director of Grace Ministries in Lake Charles, an outreach ministry of the Carey Baptist Association, Captain is instrumental in providing many services for local families, including a children’s learning center, a youth outreach center, a women’s ministry and a women’s and children’s clothing boutique. Over the years, "Whatever it takes" has become her motto.   "We don’t have a warehouse with furniture, but if I get a family who needs furniture, I get on the phone until I find some," Captain explained.   Sponsored primarily by the association and its churches, the ministry began in April 2001. The Louisiana Baptist Convention also contributes a stipend to Grace Ministries.   The ministry provides tutoring at its children’s learning center for children up to 12 years old. If a child cannot receive tutoring at the center, then Captain arranges for the tutoring to take place elsewhere.   "Whatever works for the tutor and the student," said Captain, who busses children to and from the learning … [Read more...]

Frank Page, in his second address to Executive Committee members as president of the Southern Baptist Convention, spoke of an         NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) – Frank Page, in his second address to Executive Committee members as president of the Southern Baptist Convention, spoke of an "irrecoverable moment" in which believers must repent of their self-sufficiency and unite in the task of taking the land for Christ just as the Israelites took the Promised Land despite the challenges.   "I believe that we are at what I would call a crossroads opportunity, a time that some might call even an irrecoverable moment," Page said Feb. 19 in Nashville, Tenn.   Page referred to a story told by Billy Graham in which John F. Kennedy, before he was president, asked the evangelist if he believed in the second coming of Jesus. When Graham said he did, Kennedy asked him to tell him about it.   "And Billy Graham said he told him about why Jesus came the first time and what the Bible said about His coming the second time," Page said. "He listened with such attention, and as they pulled up to the house he said, ‘Does my church teach that?’ He said, ‘Well, they believe it in their creeds and in their confessions but … [Read more...]

Revivals that make a major impact on a nation aren’t always associated with great preachers like George Whitefield, D. L. Moody or Billy Graham. Sometimes God uses a relatively unknown person who is a committed follower of Christ to bring about change.         First in a two-part series NEW YORK CITY – Revivals that make a major impact on a nation aren’t always associated with great preachers like George Whitefield, D. L. Moody or Billy Graham. Sometimes God uses a relatively unknown person who is a committed follower of Christ to bring about change.   On September 23, 1857, one of those lesser-known figures, Jeremiah Lanphier, opened the doors to the Old North Reformed Protestant Dutch Church in New York City for prayer. In a matter of weeks, the Spirit of God was blowing the winds of revival out of the doors of one church to directly impact more than one million people in the United States, and, with media and word-of-mouth coverage, to spread world wide.   Jeremiah Lanphier wasn’t a great preacher. As a matter of fact, he wasn’t really a preacher at all. He was a small town boy who moved to New York to seek his fortune. For 20 years, he owned a mercantile, a retail shop.   The Old North … [Read more...]

Yes, the upcoming Prayer for Spiritual Awakening conference set for March 22-23 at Kingville Baptist Church in Pineville has nationally-known speakers on its program. PINEVILLE – Yes, the upcoming Prayer for Spiritual Awakening conference set for March 22-23 at Kingville Baptist Church in Pineville has nationally-known speakers on its program.   Roy Fish, longtime evangelism professor at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary is to share the podium with John Avant, evangelism vice president at the North American Mission Board and international evangelist Sammy Tippit.   Yes, people from the entire state of Louisiana are invited to participate.   "This is not just something for central Louisiana," says Dick DeBusk, prayer strate-gtist for the Louisiana Baptist Convention. "We’re hoping that everyone with an interest in world-changing prayer will be at Kingsville for this potentially world-shaking event."   And yes, prayer is to be the major component of the Prayer for Spiritual Awakening Conference. Much time is to be spent in prayer for a national awakening, DeBusk said.   "We have an urgent need for revival," said Wayne Jenkins, the LBC’s evangelism/church growth team leader, and co-host of the … [Read more...]

Southern Baptist missionary Kay Garvin, 56, was shot in the chest by robbers Feb. 23 near Moshi, Tanzania. After being taken to a local clinic to be treated, she was being airlifted to a hospital in Kenya late in the evening. MOSHI, Tanzania (BP) – Southern Baptist missionary Kay Garvin, 56, was shot in the chest by robbers Feb. 23 near Moshi, Tanzania. After being taken to a local clinic to be treated, she was being airlifted to a hospital in Kenya late in the evening.   Her wound was not thought to be life-threatening, according to reports.   Garvin’s husband Carl, 60, also was injured in the attack, but his condition is not serious. A trained nurse, he has emergency medical training and was able to aid his wife immediately following the shooting, according to an initial report. Kay Garvin was conscious, breathing and talking after the shooting.   The Garvins, first-term missionaries from Valley Springs, Ark., were attacked by robbers who entered their room in a hotel south of Moshi. The missionary couple was assisting three Southern Baptist volunteers visiting Tanzania to participate in a mission project. No one else was hurt in the attack, but one of the volunteers reportedly helped fight off the robbers.   The … [Read more...]

My wife recently purchased a digital scale and placed it in our bathroom. I recently mustered the courage to give it a try. I hopped on the scale and waited patiently. When I glanced down at the display, words appeared instead of numbers. "One at a time," the callous calibrator reported.         My wife recently purchased a digital scale and placed it in our bathroom. I recently mustered the courage to give it a try. I hopped on the scale and waited patiently. When I glanced down at the display, words appeared instead of numbers. "One at a time," the callous calibrator reported.   I knew I had gained some weight, but I never realized I had put on enough pounds to play linebacker in the NFL. "How," I wondered, "did this happen?"   I began to carefully review my eating patterns over the past several months. It did not take too long to note a recent addition to my diet.   The culprit that had caused me to become gravitationally challenged was ice cream. And not just any ice cream. It was a particular brand of the frozen treat – Blue Bell.   I added Blue Bell ice cream to my diet when my family moved to Louisiana from Oregon a year ago. The tasty Texas treat was not available in the Pacific … [Read more...]

If God is truly all-loving and all-powerful, why does He permit so much human suffering? If God is all-powerful, it is in His power to stop suffering. If He is all-loving, it would seem that He would care enough to stop suffering. So why doesn’t He stop suffering?         Why does God allow suffering? This question has been raised in every generation. People often ask why God would allow a natural disaster, a painful illness, or a tragic killing. If God is truly all-loving and all-powerful, why does He permit so much human suffering? If God is all-powerful, it is in His power to stop suffering. If He is all-loving, it would seem that He would care enough to stop suffering. So why doesn’t He stop suffering?   Sometimes believers raise this question, and sometimes unbelievers raise this issue as a challenge to the Christian faith. As believers, we are called to "give an answer" for questions like these and for the hope that is within us (1 Pet.3:15).   The Bible does not answer all our questions about suffering. It is quite possible that we would not be capable of understanding the complexities of this mystery even if God explained everything to us. But Scripture does not leave us without any … [Read more...]

Russia is the largest country on earth and full of natural resources, but it is dying. Its people cannot surmount the degradation of years of neglect and of rhetoric that promised so much, but delivered so little.         Russia is the largest country on earth and full of natural resources, but it is dying. Its people cannot surmount the degradation of years of neglect and of rhetoric that promised so much, but delivered so little.   The effect of decades of policies that were nothing more than words on paper and produced no action eventually brought down the former Soviet Union. Recovery remains hard for Russia as unlearning old ways in a new shot at life – even with vast resources at their disposal – is proving difficult.   Many Russians now publicly remark that Communism was easier, but not better. Knowing what to do with resources is far more important than merely possessing them.   In like manner, the Southern Baptist Convention possesses at its fingertips resources which cause Christians in other regions of the globe to gasp with astonishment. If, however, those resources are not guided and channeled in ways which give full obedience and passion to the glory of God, the SBC, a denomination … [Read more...]