Recent advisories and reports have raised safety concerns about a popular means of group travel - 15-passenger vans Everything is set for the summer mission trip - the kids are all gathered around the van, and the luggage is all stowed, in the small trailer behind the van and on the vans rooftop rack. Recent advisories and reports have raised safety concerns about a popular means of group travel - 15-passenger vans Everything is set for the summer mission trip - the kids are all gathered around the van, and the luggage is all stowed, in the small trailer behind the van and on the vans rooftop rack. Thirteen teenagers and two adults are set for the long, 12-hour trip. It is not quite 6 a.m., but the early start is needed if the team is to reach their destination by night. Everyone is carrying a pillow and a personal CD player it seems. It will be a long, crowded trip - with four hours of it on two-lane rural roads of another state. The pastor gathers the team around as parents stand in the outer circle. The pastor offers a prayer for the work the students are prepared to do, for the people they will reach with the gospel, for the families … [Read more...]
Survey can help guide churches in deciding ministers’ salaries
The acid smell of July 4th firecrackers is out of the air and the minds of multitudes of Louisiana Baptists have turned to planning their churches budgets. Among the numerous considerations churches must undertake, salaries of staff and employees may be one of the most important, and contentious items. The acid smell of July 4th firecrackers is out of the air and the minds of multitudes of Louisiana Baptists have turned to planning their churches budgets. Among the numerous considerations churches must undertake, salaries of staff and employees may be one of the most important, and contentious items. Some committee members will be committed to paying "good" salaries, others will be committed to paying absolutely as little as possible. Unfortunately, many discussions about salaries will not be generated by facts but emotions, personal prejudices and preconceived ideas. When the committees and eventually the churches come to the point of discussing salaries, hearsays and "I guarantee you" will probably be in greater supply than hard facts. Gathering facts on how much churches of comparable size and budgets pay their staff and employees often takes detective work on a … [Read more...]
Area Briefs
For the week of July 18, 2002 Work and worship Louisiana College has scheduled its annual Work and Worship Camp on the Pineville campus for Aug. 4-9. The camp is held each year to provide Campers on Mission and others a chance to spend time on the campus and help prepare it for the upcoming semester. The college provides lodging and three meals a day for participants, who engage in a variety of work projects on campus. In addition, participants are able to join in fellowship and worship activities. Persons should contact Work and Worship coordinator Jim Elder at (318) 487-7137 or (318) 487-7118 for details or to register for the camp. Court decision A decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that affirmed the right of religious, political and other interests to knock on doors to promote their causes was a victory for religious freedom, Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission President Richard Land said. The case involved an Ohio town, which sought to force groups to get a permit before going door-to-door for any reason. However, Jehovahs Witnesses challenged the law, and the U.S. Supreme Court struck it down in an 8-1 decision. "It should not be up to the government to decide whether or not a group … [Read more...]
Give the right answer to get someone to ask the right question
Even the best-run associational meetings can seem a little long. Reports are, well, reports. And, when reports are presented like linked sausages, they can get to be, well, like a lot of reports. Unquestionably, the work of an association is vital for Baptist life. Part of the prescription for keeping associational life healthy is having informed members of the local churches that form the association. Even the best-run associational meetings can seem a little long. Reports are, well, reports. And, when reports are presented like linked sausages, they can get to be, well, like a lot of reports. Unquestionably, the work of an association is vital for Baptist life. Part of the prescription for keeping associational life healthy is having informed members of the local churches that form the association. And, one of the ways Baptists do this is by getting as many members of the churches of the association together and letting them know about what the committees of the association are doing. Accountability and inspiration. Reliable word is, a Louisiana Baptist association was having a meeting that was fulfilling its purpose of hearing lots of reports. Associational leaders were … [Read more...]
The point of human rights – to offer a ‘this-is-what-it-looks-like’ demonstration
There is an old Peanuts comic strip in which Linus and Lucy are standing outside, talking. If memory serves, Linus is explaining an idea to Lucy. It seems Charlie Brown had proposed that if Lucy, Linus and the Peanuts gang could learn to get along and treat one another right, then others could as well. Editors Note: August 4 is Social Issues Sunday in Southern Baptist churches. This years focus is human rights. The following commentary by LBM Associate Editor C. Lacy Thompson is offered as reflection on the emphasis. There is an old Peanuts comic strip in which Linus and Lucy are standing outside, talking. If memory serves, Linus is explaining an idea to Lucy. It seems Charlie Brown had proposed that if Lucy, Linus and the Peanuts gang could learn to get along and treat one another right, then others could as well. It might even spread to adults and then to nations even, Linus noted. "Of course, thats where the analogy starts to fall apart," Linus concludes. One can understand the feeling - the sinking suspicion that it is futile to hope or pray for such things as world peace or human rights for all persons. After all, what … [Read more...]
Seeking contacts
Every year, students from across the country come to Lexington, Va., to begin study at either Virginia Military Institute or Washington and Lee University. It is both advantageous and equally difficult to locate Baptist students and others who are interested in Baptist Student Union before they arrive on campus. Every year, students from across the country come to Lexington, Va., to begin study at either Virginia Military Institute or Washington and Lee University. It is both advantageous and equally difficult to locate Baptist students and others who are interested in Baptist Student Union before they arrive on campus. We would appreciate any assistance from the churches in your state to locate these students before the start of the 2002-2003 academic year. In the past, several incoming students have contacted the Lexington Area Baptist Student Union because of this letter in the state Baptist paper. You are an invaluable resource for reaching our students! The Lexington Area BSU can be contacted at 120 W. Nelson Street, Lexington, Va. 24450 or (540) 463-5366 or lexbsu@hotmail.com. Your assistance is greatly appreciated as we work together to reach and strengthen our future leaders in … [Read more...]
Missionary seeks prayer
My name is Sue Whitten, and I am serving as a Southern Baptist International Mission Board missionary in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. I recently received a postcard from you regarding your Web site. Praise the Lord! This is great. I want to say thanks for the time and effort you have spent in setting up this site. My name is Sue Whitten, and I am serving as a Southern Baptist International Mission Board missionary in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. I recently received a postcard from you regarding your Web site. Praise the Lord! This is great. I want to say thanks for the time and effort you have spent in setting up this site. It is a great joy to be able to read news and events from home. I am so excited to be able to keep up with ministries in our home state. I do pray for you there that God will bless my brother and sister Louisianians and keep them faithful. Louisiana will always hold a special place in my heart, because if it were not for many people there praying for me, my task would be much more difficult. I do have many prayer warriors from there who share in my ministry. Please include me on your prayer list. The work is plentiful here. My task is teaching English as a … [Read more...]
Church assures missionary – ‘We are praying for you’
Prayer can be a powerful tool, and Emmanuel Baptist Church members in Alexandria are hoping that a prayer quilt can encourage a hometown missionary. "We wanted the missionaries to know that were praying for them," Emmanuel Womans Missionary Union coordinator Frances Blair says. "In times of discouragement, we want them to know were there for them." Prayer can be a powerful tool, and Emmanuel Baptist Church members in Alexandria are hoping that a prayer quilt can encourage a hometown missionary. "We wanted the missionaries to know that were praying for them," Emmanuel Womans Missionary Union coordinator Frances Blair says. "In times of discouragement, we want them to know were there for them." The church made the quilt for Hartwell Price, a Southern Baptist missionary in Benin, a country in the west-central part of Africa. Blair says the group selected Price because the international worker is from Natchitoches. At the time they selected Price, the Womens on Mission group at Emmanuel Baptist Church was studying Prayer Around Africa, a year-long emphasis focused on praying for needs in Africa. The Womens on Mission group is part of Womans … [Read more...]
‘You can’t even see a good fist fight anymore (at Angola)’
What was once known as Americas bloodiest prison now is becoming a missionary-sending agency. Because of the success of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminarys extension center program at Americas largest maximum security prison, as well as the success of the prisons moral education efforts, wardens across the state are calling the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola for help. What was once known as Americas bloodiest prison now is becoming a missionary-sending agency. Because of the success of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminarys extension center program at Americas largest maximum security prison, as well as the success of the prisons moral education efforts, wardens across the state are calling the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola for help. More specifically, they are asking Angola Warden Burl Cain to send some of his New Orleans Seminary graduates to come as missionaries to their prisons, where they hope to see the same changes occur. "Now weve got another calling," Cain said. "We will send missionaries out to other prisons. What better place than in prison to see lives changed?" Cains remarks highlighted the third New … [Read more...]
The DOM structure
In unique fashion, the Louisiana Baptist Convention employs local associational directors of missions as state workers - but a new proposal is seeking to change that Editors Note: The following are the first of several articles on the Louisiana Baptist directors of missions proposal. These articles are designed to review the current director of missions system and how the proposed changes came to pass. Future articles will focus on why some believe the current directors of missions system needs to be changed and what the implications of such a change could be. In unique fashion, the Louisiana Baptist Convention employs local associational directors of missions as state workers - but a new proposal is seeking to change that Editors Note: The following are the first of several articles on the Louisiana Baptist directors of missions proposal. These articles are designed to review the current director of missions system and how the proposed changes came to pass. Future articles will focus on why some believe the current directors of missions system needs to be changed and what the implications of such a change could be. C. Lacy Thompson, LBM Associate Editor As the … [Read more...]
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