First Baptist Church here is the “poster child” that showcases advantages of building a new worship center. OPELOUSAS – FirstBaptistChurch here is the “poster child” that showcases advantages of building a new worship center.       “Hidden” two blocks behind the courthouse, to use longtime Pastor Perry Hubbs’ word, First Baptist also struggled with a small building and minimal parking space. Perhaps 200 people attended Sunday worship, but it took two services to squeeze that many people into a building constructed in the early 1950s.       The church bought 12 acres of land next to Interstate 49 in 2000, and in 2003 built a 40,000-square-foot, multi-purpose, $2.3 million, first-phase worship/education/recreation facility.       Today, more than 500 people participate in Sunday morning worship.       “Now that we’re here, everyone knows us,” said Hubbs, pastor since 1992. “This has given us the visibility we didn’t have.”       First Opelousas was the site in mid-March of the semi-annual church building conference, an LBC Cooperative Program ministry also sponsored by LifeWay Christian Resources and the North American … [Read more...]

When Harvey and Jennifer Sparks accepted God’s call to missions among a people group in Mozambique in 2004, they didn’t know they were a church’s answer to prayer. BELLVIEW, Fla. (BP) – When Harvey and Jennifer Sparks accepted God’s call to missions among a people group in Mozambique in 2004, they didn’t know they were a church’s answer to prayer.   First BaptistChurch in Belleview, Fla., had been praying for several years that God would send missionaries to the Koti, a people group of about 65,000. Before the Sparkses came along, the Koti had no known access to the Gospel. Churches like Belleview, with an average attendance of around 500, show that congregations of all sizes can impact the world through prayer.   “Prayer works, and as a result of that, we have recognized that prayer is the priority,” says Ron Walker, Belleview’s pastor for nearly 20 years.   “We [don’t] have to be a big church to pray.”   During the past 10 years, the church has partnered with the International Mission Board through an effort called PRAYERplus, which links churches with people groups who have been strategically identified by overseas field leadership.   Through their partnership with the … [Read more...]

Southern Baptists and other believers across the state had an opportunity to invest in their marriages – and get several good laughs at the same time – by attending a conference here at Journey Fellowship Church conducted by internationally respected marriage and family life expert Gary Chapman. SLIDELL – Southern Baptists and other believers across the state had an opportunity to invest in their marriages – and get several good laughs at the same time – by attending a conference here at Journey FellowshipChurch conducted by internationally respected marriage and family life expert Gary Chapman. Author of the best-selling book, The Five Love Languages, Chapman, using both scripture and humor, led couples through sessions that focused on communication, love, initiating positive change, making sex a mutual joy, and sharing constructive criticism. “Couples who don’t share their lives find their marriages empty,” Chapman told a packed audience early on in the conference. Communication is the most important ingredient to intimacy, he said, emphasizing that many people choose not to reveal what’s going on in their hearts and minds to their mates. If couples could simply share three things with one another on a … [Read more...]

GuideStone Financial Resources adopted new higher monthly income limits for applicants to the Adopt An Annuitant ministry which will allow more persons to qualify for financial assistance. DALLAS — GuideStone Financial Resources adopted new higher monthly income limits for applicants to the Adopt An Annuitant ministry which will allow more persons to qualify for financial assistance. Effective immediately, the new guidelines approved by the trustees raise the monthly income limits to $1,500 for single applicants and $2,000 for married applicants. In addition to enhancing the Adopt An Annuitant program, GuideStone is also releasing its Cooperative Program allocation to be used for other Southern Baptist ministries.        “We are excited to be able to amend the guidelines so that more individuals will qualify for assistance and that those who have served so faithfully will be eligible for increased benefits in the future,” GuideStone President O.S. Hawkins said in his report to trustees.        In addition to the increased income guidelines, trustees also approved increased amounts for ministers or their widows who have extremely low incomes and more than 30 years of service. These … [Read more...]

An interesting letter to the editor appeared in the March 1 edition of The Times-Picayune, the daily newspaper for the New Orleans metro. The writer, apparently a Roman Catholic, expressed her frustration, “I was appalled to see that St. Mark Catholic Church in Chalmette had not been cleaned out yet. The Archdiocese of New Orleans should have called the Baptists. They would have cleaned it out, no questions asked, as they have been and still are doing at other locations in St. Bernard Parish.” An interesting letter to the editor appeared in the March 1 edition of The Times-Picayune, the daily newspaper for the New Orleans metro. The writer, apparently a Roman Catholic, expressed her frustration, “I was appalled to see that St. Mark Catholic Church in Chalmette had not been cleaned out yet. The Archdiocese of New Orleans should have called the Baptists. They would have cleaned it out, no questions asked, as they have been and still are doing at other locations in St. Bernard Parish.”       This woman’s thoughts about calling up the Baptists to get the job done are a common theme in the New Orleans/St. Bernard/Gentilly area. Southern Baptist volunteers from every state in the union and some foreign … [Read more...]

Imagine a prominent conservative Christian publicly announcing that he has renounced heterosexuality and will henceforth and forever be homosexual. Imagine a prominent conservative Christian publicly announcing that he has renounced heterosexuality and will henceforth and forever be homosexual. Add to the scenario the leader declaring he is dedicated to promoting the glory of gayness and encouraging others to become homosexual. Now try to imagine the mainstream media ignoring such an announcement.       Try as I might, I cannot for the life of me, imagine the mainstream press failing to report such news.       Instead, there would be a media firestorm. The news would spread fast and furious from sea to shining sea – even if the leader was prominent only on a regional or state level.       If the mainstream media types would be quick to pounce on the news of a Christian leader coming out of the closet, and I believe they would, do you think they would be as eager to cover a prominent homosexual activist who embraced Christianity and renounced his or her homosexuality?       You need not ponder the aforementioned question … [Read more...]

Just for fun, my husband recently asked me some pre-marriage questions from a book, “Getting to ‘Really Know’ Your Life-Mate-to Be, by Bobb and Cheryl Biehl. Just for fun, my husband recently asked me some pre-marriage questions from a book, “Getting to ‘Really Know’ Your Life-Mate-to Be,by Bobb and Cheryl Biehl.   Examples were:   -- “Who do you think is responsible to do the following work around the home: Car repairs? Cooking? Fixing things? House cleaning?”   -- “Who will balance the monthly bank statement?”   -- “How do you feel about birth control?”   Some questions weren’t so easy, though. One asked, “How would you improve on either one of our social lives?”   The exercise got me thinking about how satisfying a good marriage is.   In response to one of my columns titled “Going Beyond Same Sex Marriage,” I was e-mailed some thoughtful questions from a homosexual reader. One question challenged my contention that bringing homosexual couples into the marriage equation would result in the “deconstruction” of marriage and would remove something good and positive from the society.   My critic argued that those of us in the battle to retain … [Read more...]

In my law practice, I have spent decades representing elderly men and women who have endured unspeakable nursing home abuse and neglect. In recent weeks, NBC’s Nightly News has begun a series of reports entitled “Trading Places: Caring for your Parents.” The series began with the personal stories of NBC reporters like Brian Williams, Tim Russert, and Ann Curry, each of whom is dealing with an increasingly common question: what should I do with my aging parents?   The plight of elderly Americans is a top concern for the Center for a Just Society because this population is at significant risk of abuse and neglect.   In my law practice, I have spent decades representing elderly men and women who have endured unspeakable nursing home abuse and neglect. Short staffing characterizes the operation of too many nursing homes and many corporate predators operating facilities put profits over people and revenue over residents.   The care of the institutionalized elderly is becoming a national disgrace. If these conditions prevailed at Abu Ghraib or in our nation’s daycare centers, members of both parties would be foaming at the mouth, calling for reform. However, because the abused and neglected victims … [Read more...]

Director of Missions for the Webster-Claiborne Association, Randy Hales has had at least one run-in with the law during his 35 years in the ministry. MINDEN – Director of Missions for the Webster-Claiborne Association, Randy Hales has had at least one run-in with the law during his 35 years in the ministry. As a volunteer driver for the LSU Baptist Collegiate Ministry, Hales once found himself lost in downtown Allende, Mexico, pulling a trailer, driving 15 college students to a mission trip and getting increasingly lost. Driving the wrong way downtown, Hales passed the police station, which led to being pulled over by police. A bit of quick thinking went a long way for Hales. Grabbing a bowl of cookies his wife had made for the college students, Hales, along with his interpreter, exited the vehicle. “Look, I’m just a crazy American,” he told the police. “But I come bearing cookies.” As he began doling out chocolate chip cookies to the officers, they called for back-up. By this time, of course, the officers knew he was harmless, he said. They just wanted his wife’s cookies. “I went through the whole bucket in ten minutes,” he continued, explaining how his wife had made enough cookies for each student to have … [Read more...]

The parishes of Webster and Claiborne in the northwestern part of the state form the boundaries for this Baptist association, which serves 42 mission-minded churches. Randy Hales is director of missions. WEBSTER-CLAIBORNE ASSOCIATION – The parishes of Webster and Claiborne in the northwestern part of the state form the boundaries for this Baptist association, which serves 42 mission-minded churches. Randy Hales is director of missions.   Webster Parish provides visitors and residents alike the best of both worlds:  a rural setting that offers a variety of outdoor pursuits right next door to a metropolitan area – Shreveport – that offers a plethora of urban activities. The parish, set in Northwest Louisiana’s rolling red clay hills, boasts tall pine forests and hardwood bottoms watered by twin bayous – Dorcheat and Bodcaw – as well as LakeBistineau.   Claiborne Parish, east of Webster and named for the first American governor of Louisiana, William Charles Cole Claiborne, also is set in the scenic hill country of forests, fields, and streams, with two lakes – Corney and Lake Claiborne – bejeweling the landscape.   Webster-Claiborne Association ministers to a combined population of more than 59,000 … [Read more...]