What is missing most often in America today?     What is missing most often in America today? Is it wealth? I don’t believe this is a real issue for most. You may not be rich but you had plenty of food and a place to sleep yesterday.   Perhaps it is health? Again, my mind says no. Sure, we know of someone whose health is not what it once was due to illness, accident, or age. However, for most it is not a big issue. So what is it that too many folks in America are searching for, longing for and that seems to be so illusive?   I wish I could take credit for having written about it, but I did not. It was written by David, King of Israel. You wouldn’t listen to someone with little or no experience in his field. So for the sake of clarification of credentials, I’ll begin with verse 25 of Psalm 37:25 - "I have been young, and now am old." Immediately we are reminded that experience is the best teacher and David has a wealth of experience to qualify as a teacher for a course on Contentment.   Psalm 37 is filled with the wisdom of a seasoned man who is able to reflect and realize that it is senseless to become agitated by what ceases so soon. Life’s changes have not soured nor disquieted him for he has learned to see God … [Read more...]

The Civil War was a tremendous struggle that touched the lives of every American and ended the earthly journey of hundreds of thousands of young men on battlefields across our land.     One of the most popular classes I am teaching this spring is an intensive study of the American Civil War. With only a few exceptions, this period in American history has captured the imagination of Americans like no other single event in our nation’s storied history. It was, after all, a tremendous struggle that touched the lives of every American and ended the earthly journey of hundreds of thousands of young men on battlefields across our land.   Among the great questions covered each semester is: "What sustained the people and leaders in the midst of this necessary but terrible war?" The original words of the participants, often neglected and sometimes misinterpreted, come through plainly.   At his inauguration in Alabama, the president of the Confederacy, Jefferson Davis, looked forward to a war, the likes of which he and others in 1861 could not have imagined. He urged his listeners, "Reverently let us invoke the God of our fathers to guide and protect us in our efforts to perpetuate the principles which, by his blessing, they … [Read more...]

In the spring of 2006 1,000 British Muslims were polled. The results were alarming.     In the spring of 2006 1,000 British Muslims were polled. The results were alarming:   -- 28 percent wanted to see Great Britain become an Islamic state --68 percent said that Brits who insult Islam should be arrested & prosecuted --25 percent had either never heard of the Holocaust or contended it never happened --45 percent said that 9/11 was a conspiracy between the U.S. & Israel (another 35 percent said "don’t know") The objective of many Muslims is to Islamicize the world. When a person or a country stands in the way of Islam’s efforts, these Muslims regard it as a "war on Islam."   This does not mean all Muslims hate Christians. For over a thousand years there have been many friendships between Muslims and Christians. However, Muslims who have befriended Christians have disregarded the Koran in the process, since it prohibits such friendships (Q 5:51).   So what are Christians to do? I would like to suggest three responses by evangelicals to Islam.   Understand that we stand in the way of Islam intentionally. We believe that Islam is a religion that promotes false teachings about God. The Apostle Paul … [Read more...]

Religious Freedom Day probably isn’t the American Civil Liberties Union’s favorite government-approved event, despite their attempts to argue that they care deeply about the subject.     Religious Freedom Day probably isn’t the American Civil Liberties Union’s favorite government-approved event, despite their attempts to argue that they care deeply about the subject.   While the ACLU likes to promote itself as the prime defender of First Amendment rights, at least two of those rights are ideological thorns in the flesh for the organization: freedom of religion (if it involves publicly acknowledging God) and freedom of speech (if that speech is formed as a prayer).   President Bush’s proclamation of Religious Freedom Day, celebrated Jan. 16, likely set the teeth of the ACLU and its affiliated activists on edge. Particularly with Bush’s insistence that "freedom is a gift from the Almighty" and included encouragement to commemorate the day in places of worship. The ACLU, after all, is only fond of America when it’s being sledge-hammered into support of an atheistic agenda by complicit courts and pandering politicians.   Somehow – for all the ACLU’s aggressive efforts in courtrooms across America to eliminate … [Read more...]

Fewer than 10 percent of the population might need access to a food pantry, but Fellowship Church has one, for whenever the need emerges.     PRAIRIEVILLE – Fewer than 10 percent of the population might need access to a food pantry, but Fellowship Church has one, for whenever the need emerges.   Fellowship, started by Kirk Jones in 2001, is known for giving things away – such as bottled water to people working in their yards on a hot day, or light bulbs, or flowers to plant in the spring.   "We’re always giving [area residents] something, to show we want to be givers in the community," Jones said. "We want to reach people where they are, and to be real."   Fellowship meets in a fire station’s garage-like rental hall; members set up and tear down for the worship experience each Sunday. That’s expected to change by Easter. Louisiana Baptist Builders are constructing an interestingly-shaped church plant fronted by an octagonal area designed for a day care center.   Day Care is one of the needs in the rapidly-growing area, Jones said. The population has soared from 10,000 to nearly 50,000 in the last 25 years.   Prairieville, about an hour south of Baton Rouge, is known for the excellence of its school system. … [Read more...]

Vernon Parish, home to the fifth-largest military installation in the United States is no stranger to the sounds of war.     FORT POLK – Vernon Parish, home to the fifth-largest military installation in the United States is no stranger to the sounds of war.   Explosions issue from what residents call the "rifle range" – the training area on fort Polk’s 8.1 square miles – rattling residents’ windows and often punctuating front-porch conversations.   After dark, flares glow on the horizon, lighting the way for soldiers training at night.   Sometimes, a low-flying helicopter or plane will suddenly roar into view and seem to brush the tree-tops, giving children a thrill and adults a racing heart.   "Providing highly realistic, stressful, joint and combined arms training across the full spectrum of conflict (current and future)" is the goal of the Joint Readiness Training Center (JRTC) at Fort Polk, according to its website.   Indeed, training is more like dress rehearsal for soldiers, as they interact with other military services as well as local residents who are "role-playing."   Since the training replicates experiences soldiers can expect to have during a real mission, local residents as well as visiting … [Read more...]

Born Nov. 22, 1927, E.J. Bradshaw, Director of Missions for the Vernon Association, was born again the fourth week of July in 1937.     LEESVILLE – Born Nov. 22, 1927, E.J. Bradshaw, Director of Missions for the Vernon Association, was born again the fourth week of July in 1937.   In Mangham, La., where Bradshaw was reared, revival happened every year the fourth week of July, he said. This particular year, Bradshaw’s father, who had one of the few cars in the area, was getting the vehicle ready to tow a trailer throughout the community so that he could bring people to church.   Bradshaw, who was just leaving the barn from feeding the animals, remembered his father calling him over to the Model T.   "I knew it was serious and wondered what I’d done," he said.   "Son, do you know you’re a sinner?" his father asked him.   "I might not have been elected as the model boy of the community, but I would have been nominated," Bradshaw said. "But that day I learned I was a sinner. Dad also told me about Jesus and how to give my life to Him, and that if I would, God would do more with my life than I ever could. So I gave my life to Jesus next to that Model T. Even though I tried to take it back a few times, since that … [Read more...]

Brandon Lewis, youth leader at First Baptist Winnfield, is all about helping teens lead lives of purity that glorify God.     First in a series WINNFIELD – Brandon Lewis, youth leader at First Baptist Winnfield, is all about helping teens lead lives of purity that glorify God.   As part of that goal, Lewis provides the True Love Waits curriculum to his students and encourages them to take the True Love Waits pledge to remain sexually pure until marriage.   True Love Waits, a LifeWay Christian Resources program, encourages moral purity by adhering to biblical principles and utilizing positive peer pressure, explains its website – www.lifeway.com/tlw/.   "The basic idea that I try to teach students is that purity is possible," Lewis said. "First Corinthians 10:13 teaches us that God will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can handle and will also provide a way out of a tempting situation. For those who have already crossed the line and have become involved in sexual activity, forgiveness is available and a new commitment to purity can be made."   Caroline Kelley, a senior at Winnfield Senior High School and one of Lewis’ students, took her pledge a year ago this past January, but has always told … [Read more...]

True Love Waits® is one of several approaches to challenging teenagers and college students to make a commitment to sexual abstinence until marriage.     True Love Waits® is one of several approaches to challenging teenagers and college students to make a commitment to sexual abstinence until marriage.   Created by LifeWay Christian Resources, True Love Waits is designed to encourage moral purity by adhering to biblical principles.   This youth-based international campaign utilizes positive peer pressure by encouraging those who make a commitment to refrain from pre-marital sex to challenge their peers to do the same. Find out more about True Love Waits online: www.lifeway.com/tlw   Following are some of the questions dealt with on the website: What does sexual purity mean exactly? Sexual purity includes abstaining from intercourse until marriage, but that is not all it means. Jesus said, "You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart" (Matthew 5:27-28).   By Jesus’ definition, being sexually pure means not even dwelling on thoughts of sex with someone other than a … [Read more...]

If there is any question about where the focus of the North American Mission Board lies as it enters the New Year, those questions quickly dissipate after talking with key leadership.     ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP) – Evangelism. Church planting. Missions.   If there is any question about where the focus of the North American Mission Board lies as it enters the New Year, those questions quickly dissipate after talking with key leadership.   "We want to be about evangelism and church planting and sending missionaries who do evangelism and church planting," says Interim Vice President for Missions Harry Lewis. That simple statement sums up the board’s direction as it stands on the threshold of 2007 and looks toward its 10th anniversary this June.   "We spent several months in listening sessions with our state partners and we heard those three primary objectives as being the areas they would like us to focus on," Lewis said. "We are not reducing the other objectives we have had since our founding, we are just narrowing our focus."   Shortly after its launch in June 1997 the board announced six Major Ministry Objectives. It’s those objectives that have been distilled down to three -– sharing Christ, starting churches and … [Read more...]