It is 7 a.m. on Sept. 7 and a small group of laypeople sits in a classroom at Florida Boulevard Baptist Church in Baton Rouge for the third straight morning, brainstorming ways to alleviate the burden of relief work from church staff nine days after Hurricane Katrina struck. Note: Louisiana Baptist churches throughout the state have responded to the needs of Hurricane Katrina victims. All of the stories cannot possibly be recounted. Instead, the following article about efforts of one such church is representative of so many others across Louisiana. It is 7 a.m. on Sept. 7 and a small group of laypeople sits in a classroom at Florida Boulevard Baptist Church in Baton Rouge for the third straight morning, brainstorming ways to alleviate the burden of relief work from church staff nine days after Hurricane Katrina struck. Even with 100 church volunteers working 16-18 hour days, it is not enough. On the wall in the makeshift war room, a white marker board shows a flow chart as complicated as any NFL pass play – names, boxes, arrows, indistinguishable scribbles. “We’ve got to take it over,” church member John Hudson says. “It was evident by Sunday that the effort at this church was overwhelming. That’s my … [Read more...]

As the nation unites for the daunting challenge of assisting Hurricane Katrina survivors, President George Bush is calling for a national day of prayer and remembrance on Sept. 16. Day of prayer As the nation unites for the daunting challenge of assisting Hurricane Katrina survivors, President George Bush is calling for a national day of prayer and remembrance on Sept. 16. “Throughout our history, in times of testing, Americans have come together to heal and ask for strength for the tasks ahead, ...” Bush said. “I ask that we pray –as Americans have always prayed in times of trial – with confidence in his purpose, with hope for a brighter future and with the humility to ask God to keep us strong so that we can better serve our brothers and sisters in need.” In response to Bush’s request for a national day of prayer, the National Day of Prayer Task Force is stepping up to promote awareness. The task force has no official relationship to the day of prayer but is working to promote participation. “We’re encouraging people to do things like ring their church bells (at noon Sept. 16), keep their car lights on throughout the day, display the flag at their home, gather at their workplace to pray during their … [Read more...]

Nearly two-thirds of Americans support teaching creationism alongside evolution in public schools, but there is far less agreement over who gets to decide what is taught, a new poll indicates. Nearly two-thirds of Americans support teaching creationism alongside evolution in public schools, but there is far less agreement over who gets to decide what is taught, a new poll indicates. The poll by Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life found that three-quarters of Americans believe God created life on Earth, and 64 percent support teaching both evolution and creationism. The battle over evolution in the classroom has flared in various public school districts. The poll showed 41 percent of Americans want parents to decide what children are taught, compared with a slightly larger combined group who think the decision should be made by teachers (28 percent) or local school boards (21 percent). Those figures roughly mirror the number of Americans who believe that life has always existed as we know it today (42 percent) versus those who believe life has evolved over time (48 percent). “This is an example of American pragmatism,” said John Green, a senior fellow in religion and American politics at the Pew … [Read more...]

No doubt about it – for Louisianians these days, all eyes are glued on the southern part of the state, especially New Orleans … [Read more...]

Week of September 19, 2005 Daily updates The Southern Baptist North American Mission Board officials announced the agency is providing a daily brief Web-cast highlighting disaster relief operations. The briefing will be posted weekdays at www.namb.net/dr. The Web site will include statistics and downloadable materials to inform Southern Baptists of relief efforts and needs. Hurricane reunion McKinnley Pittman lost all his phone numbers in the floodwaters of Hurricane Katrina, and for eight days he did not know if he also had lost his wife. Pittman took his wife, Geraldine, to a niece’s house outside of New Orleans on Aug. 28, to shelter her from the hurricane. Then, he went back to New Orleans to ride out the storm. Five days after the storm – but without his family phone numbers. Pittman was rescued from a rooftop. He eventually was taken to a shelter at Churchill Baptist Church in San Antonio, Texas. He mentioned his plight to John Nelson, a member of Churchill Baptist who was working as a volunteer. Nelson began an Internet search and soon located Pittman’s wife. “Hey, woman! Where have you been hiding?” Pittman asked when he finally talked with his wife by telephone, grinning and weeping at the same time. … [Read more...]

There has been so much written about Hurricane Katrina that I hesitate to write more. But I have to say that Wednesday evening after the storm, on a national newscast, I caught a glimpse of our Louisiana Baptist disaster van serving food to displaced victims. You’ll never know how proud that made me. On Friday night, I saw it in another newsclip. Our church is not a large church by any means of the imagination. We will have 80 in attendance on a good Sunday. Some of our people besides me saw some photos of our van working. To make a long story short as an individual church we are not able to do a lot. But besides feeding about 20 hungry displaced people, we did, in two offerings the week after the storm, receive $2087 for hurricane relief. We sent it to the ministry of the Louisiana Baptist disaster van. What a great work and witness. Don A. Johnson, Pastor Eastern Heights Baptist Church DeQuincy … [Read more...]

Week of September 26, 2005 Executive Board change Due to Hurricane Rita, the Louisiana Baptist Convention Executive Board meeting set for Sept. 26-27 at Tall Timbers Baptist Conference Center has been rescheduled for Oct. 17-18. The meeting is set for the same location. LC Founder’s Day Louisiana College has scheduled its annual Founder’s Day activities for Oct. 6. A special chapel service is set for that day at 10:50 a.m. on the Pineville campus. At the  service, the 2005 Trustees’ Distinguished Service Award recipients will be recognized and will have the opportunity to address the student body. The Trustees’ Distinguished Service Award is given for exceptional service to the church, outstanding achievement in the arts and exemplary service to philanthropy toward Louisiana College. This year’s recipients are businessman Jimmy Creel, Louisiana College alumnus and former school administrator Carlton Vance, Louisiana College alumnus Carl Vogel and longtime Louisiana Baptist minister Connie Ward. For more information on the event, persons may call (318) 487-7401. LC changes Louisiana College officials responded to the approach of Hurricane Rita last weekend by cancelling one event and rescheduling two others. … [Read more...]

Thirty-six Southern Baptist state conventions have now been activated to provide disaster relief services in the Gulf Coast, preparing and serving hot meals and providing hot showers, laundry units and cleanup and recovery services. Thirty-six Southern Baptist state conventions have now been activated to provide disaster relief services in the Gulf Coast, preparing and serving hot meals and providing hot showers, laundry units and cleanup and recovery services. Late last week, figures indicated more than 5,000 Southern Baptist disaster relief volunteers had served some 2.2 million meals to victims of the hurricane. Meanwhile, the Southern Baptist operation is in transition throughout the Gulf Coast region, said Jim Burton, director of volunteer mobilization at the Southern Baptist North American Mission Board. “Most of the northern cities are completing their feeding operations,” Burton explained. “Some of the state mobile feeding units are being reassigned while others are being released to return home.” Burton said leaders anticipated New Orleans to be opened soon, which will require feeding units in that location. Meanwhile, feeding units already are in operation in the area around New Orleans. … [Read more...]

Look around the magazine racks at the local Wal-Mart, Barnes & Noble or Rite Aid and one may see some new titles amid the regulars. Look around the magazine racks at the local Wal-Mart, Barnes & Noble or Rite Aid and one may see some new titles amid the regulars. For instance, Charisma is a magazine principally aimed at Pentecostal Christians. However, this summer, magazine leaders launched a concerted effort to cross over into the general market, following in the footsteps of Christian music and books that have made the leap from religious to secular shelves. And the magazine is not alone. Precious Times is a quarterly publication for African-American Christian women. It entered Barnes & Noble in April. About the same time, NavPress Periodicals started placing its Pray! and Discipleship Journal magazines in stores like Borders. “As a publisher, we would like to get our message out to a broader and broader audience,” said Stephen Strang, publisher of Charisma. “There’s a new receptivity.” In September, Strang will launch two other titles into the general market as well – Vida Cristiana, Charisma magazine’s Spanish language-format; and New Man, a men’s magazine. “We’ve been trying to … [Read more...]

He has been on the road for seven hours and has no way of knowing he was just halfway through his trip. LBM Commentary By C. Lacy Thompson LBM Associate Editor Note: September 25 is designated as Louisiana Baptist Message Sunday, a time to remember – and pray for – the ministry of the state convention newspaper. In recognition of that emphasis, the following commentary by LBM Associate Editor C. Lacy Thompson reflects on the ministry of the statewide weekly newspaper. An accompanying article proposes 10 ways Louisiana Baptists can support the ministry of the Louisiana Baptist Message. He has been on the road for seven hours and has no way of knowing he was just halfway through his trip. Ordinarily, he would have arrived long ago – the drive from New Orleans to Alexandria usually takes just four hours. But this is August 28 – yes, this August 28 as last-minute residents of the New Orleans area flee the approaching Hurricane Katrina.  And he is among them. At this particular moment, traffic on the highway he is driving is at a literal standstill –and has been for awhile. His cell phone rings – as it has been ringing for most of the trip. It is his brother in another state, who … [Read more...]