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Dr. Rex Butler – Stories of Christians Responding to Past Medical Crises
[Dr. Rex Butler is the John T. Westbrook Chair of Church History at the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary] During Spring 2020, the Coronavirus pandemic dominates our lives, our families, and our ministries. When you turn on the TV, the news is all Coronavirus, all the time! Medical advisors and
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From the Executive Director
Dear NOBA Pastor, In his LPB roundtable discussion last night, Governor John Bel Edwards commended you, the pastors and faith leaders of Louisiana, for your compliance with his executive orders aimed at “flattening the curve” and stemming the surge of Coronavirus cases in our state. Your response was immediate and
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The Peace of Rome and the Peace of Christ
“Peace on earth, and goodwill toward men,” the angel said when Jesus was born. Peace on earth is something you hear around this time of year. It’s a well-wish, like Merry Christmas, and so we strip the phrase of its power—not maliciously, but we do well when we remember the
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Response to Released Paige Patterson Letter
Recently, a letter was released online in which Dr. Paige Patterson expressed his concerns at the election of Dr. Fred Luter to the SBC presidency. Because this letter directly involves one of the pastors in our association, and because, as associational workers and pastors in a majority African-American city, we’ve
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“God Did It,” Franklin Avenue Dedication
Associational ministry is a work of extremes; we work on the peaks and in the valleys of church life. When a new church is planted, or finds cause for some new ebenezer, we are there to celebrate the great thing God has done with energy and vibrancy, like a friend
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To Such as These: Evangelism or Compassion?
Painting Credit: “Jesus Feeds 5000” by Eric Feather, used with expressed consent. All rights reserved. How many times, as Southern Baptists, have we heard compassion ministries pitted against evangelism—as though the two are separate, as though the two are contradictory? One of my favorite things about Jesus is the
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Is Racism Still an Issue Among Churches? A Response to MLK50 and Fallout
Is racism still an issue among churches? If not, if racism is a past offense, then the recent MLK50 conference which our NOBA staff attended was the reopening of a sealed wound, the undoing of decades of hard-fought healing. If not, Russell Moore deserves the criticism our state executive recently
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A Prayer of Confession of Racism
Photo Credit: Copyright by Soichi Watanabe and OMSC Our Annual Fall Meeting this year was centered around the theme of courageous conversations, specifically conversations about race and class division–the church’s part in perpetuating these divisions, and what our churches might be able to do to participate in the Spirit’s work
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Why a Meeting on Racism?
[These remarks are taken from Jack Hunter’s remarks at this year’s annual fall meeting. Photo Credit: Soichi Watanabe and OMSC.] Why a Fall Meeting on racism? Has there been a racial rant at one of our churches, or has someone in our Association done harm to a person of a different
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Baptist Community Health Services Awarded FQHC Look Alike Status
Baptist Community Health Services CEO, Shawn Powers, announced today that BCHS has been awarded Federally Qualified Health Center Look Alike status. This award certifies that BCHS meets all 19 federal qualifications required by the Health Resources and Services Administration. BCHS is a multi-site, non-profit community health center, with clinics in
