By Will Hall, director, LBC Office of Public Policy, and executive editor, Baptist Message
ALEXANDRIA, La. (LBM) – Louisiana Baptists saw a 19 percent jump in baptisms in 2022 and a 31 percent surge on top of that in 2023. Last week, many Louisiana Baptists took part in the Livingston Parish GO TELL AMERICA Crusade and witnessed more than 1,300 spiritual decisions — with at least 602 new believers who are counted among that number. Moreover, there are similar evangelistic events planned around the state in 2025 as Louisiana Baptists commit to establish a culture of soul winning in our state.
However, this week, all of that has been overshadowed in some circles because of the poor decision by a few individuals to wrongly characterize, or otherwise allow the wrong perception, that “Louisiana Baptists” oppose Amendment 2, a tax reform measure which is on the statewide March 29 ballot.
Unfortunately, their misdirection on this issue involves a video clip of my testimony before the Senate Committee on Revenue & Fiscal Affairs regarding HB 7 (which removes language from the Constitution pertaining to property tax exemptions for ministries and nonprofits) and HB 11 (which transfers the exact same language to the statutes which articulate the state tax code).
I spoke on the basis of a “white card” (informational purposes), not a “green card” (support) or a “red card” (oppose), specifically because Louisiana Baptists (neither through a vote at an annual business meeting, nor via the Executive Board which represents them between annual business meetings) have not adopted a consensus statement about this specific issue (although Louisiana Baptists have clearly spoken about protecting religious liberty).
Importantly, the committee heard the issues that were raised, and they compromised by adding language in the proposed change to the Constitution to recognize the fundamental functions of churches, while also including churches and our ministries in the property tax exemption protections that would transfer from the Constitution to a statute in our laws.
Moreover, I trust the governor as a man of faith and a man of his word. Likewise, the author of HB 7, Rep. Julie Emerson, is a woman of faith (she is a faithful member with First Baptist Church, Lafayette) and a woman of her word. Each comes from a different Christian tradition, but I trust that both love Christ and His Bride, the Church. Consequently, I rest assured that neither would allow congregations and their ministries to be vulnerable to the whims of local property tax assessors and the possible harm that could result from a few bad actors. Additionally, both have promised to “make a fix” if one is needed because of the passage of Amendment 2.
For that matter, Gov. Landry has made a very public pledge to that effect.
On Tuesday, March 25, Louisiana Christian University hosted a breakfast, organized by Rep. Mike Johnson (a faithful member with First Baptist Church, Pineville) that featured Gov. Landry as speaker. As expected, he pushed for passage of his reforms, including Amendment 2. But he also made a statement (in front of a packed crowd and the cameras of multiple media outlets) that is key to the debate about Amendment 2, including the transfer of property tax exemptions from the Constitution to the tax code.
“If there’s some mistake we’ve made, we’re going to fix it,” Gov. Landry promised, and I believe him.
I strongly embrace the cherished Baptist doctrine of the Priesthood of All Believers, which describes how each believer has direct access to God and the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. So, my advice about how to vote on Amendment 2 is “truly pray.”
However, I do offer these observations: There may be legitimate concern about something in Amendment 2. But the narrative that all church and ministry property tax exemptions will be removed from the Constitution is wrong — key protections will remain. Meanwhile, the others will be moved to the tax code where they will be guarded by a two-thirds vote in each chamber of the legislature. Most of all, despite false impressions circulating on the internet, the Louisiana Baptist Convention does not oppose Amendment 2.
So, go and vote, March 29 … and do not be swayed in how you vote by the negative influence of all these deceptions.
