I once pastored an elderly believer who was habitually late. She treated her tardiness as if it was something unusual because she would always give an explanation for her delay.

Of the many excuses given, one sticks out above them all when she said one particular Sunday morning that the devil had made her late because when she had opened the freezer door of her refrigerator a frozen chicken fell out and landed on her toes.

Well, I think her problem had little to do with Satan and more to do with a poorly packed freezer! I certainly do not want to promote a skepticism of Satan’s existence and activity, for he is alive and well in this world. Though a defeated foe, Satan’s plans are to undermine the authority and will of God.

A.W. Tozer wrote with prophetic insight about a lot of things and he was certainly correct when he penned, “The world is not a playground, but a battleground.”

Like the smell of napalm, an honest reading of the New Testament affirms that this world is a war zone. How could we think otherwise when we read commands like I Peter 5:8,9, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion.”? Or, James 4:7 where believers are commanded to “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”? (more…)

Pastor’s Conference

First Baptist Church Gonzales, Louisiana

“Spiritual Disciplines in a Pastor’s Life”

Dr. Donald Whitney

October 3-4, 2014

First Baptist Church Gonzales is excited to offer a second mini-conference this year for pastors and church leaders in Louisiana and beyond. By mini-conferences we are referring to a 24 hour event for the purpose of offering biblical challenge and encouragement to pastors and church leaders. On October 3-4, we are thrilled to have Dr. Donald Whitney as our conference leader, and he will be teaching on “Spiritual Disciplines in a Pastor’s Life/Church’s Life.”

 As you are probably aware, Dr. Whitney has written widely on this topic most notably in his book, “Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life” which was recently updated and expanded.  Dr. Whitney brings a wealth of ministry experience to share, and I trust that the biblical teaching and materials, along with the fellowship of other pastors will be a great encouragement to you.

Our heart’s desire in hosting these conferences is to make them accessible and affordable.  The registration fee for this conference is $25 which will also cover meals.  If there are pastors who would like to attend, but are not able for financial reasons, please let us know.

We will also have a bookstore at the conference and will give a number of free books and resources to conference attendees.

Our prayer is that God would bring pastors and church leaders together to forge a network of encouragement and ministry mobilization for the glory of Christ and the building up of His church.  We hope you will join us on Friday, October 3^th and Saturday, October 4^th at First Baptist Church Gonzales. Register today!   Click here to Register  Please feel to contact us by phone, 225-647-8575 and ask for Brent Hill, or by email at events@fbcg.net

Someone has said that judging others is one of the favorite indoor sports of humanity. Indeed, judging others just seems to flow naturally from a fallen heart.

Even among the ranks of the redeemed, believers battle with sinful, judgmental attitudes. In fact, one of the crushing criticisms leveled against Christianity has been those instances where professing believers have been cruel, harsh, and condemning in their action toward others.

Instead of providing a covering of comfort in the blows of life, believers have been known to shoot their wounded.  These cancerous thoughts and actions can defile many, thus falling woefully short of the command of Jesus who taught, “Judge not, that you be not judged.” (Matthew 7:1)

In context, the crosshairs of this command were upon the Pharisees whose judgments were so severe and without mercy that Jesus rebukes them for noticing the speck in another’s eye while ignoring the log that was in their own eye. (Matthew 7:2-5) Like the Pharisees before us, we can be good at speck inspecting and log ignoring.

Like the older brother in the parable of the prodigal son, we can rehearse the failures of others without taking a breath, but are often very slow to embrace our sins and failures. (more…)

Coming Apart: The State of White America, 1960-2010 by Charles Murray is a fascinating and sobering cultural analysis of the last 50 years in the United States.  Written from a socially conservative, libertarian perspective, Murray argues that “our nation is coming apart at the seams—not ethnic seams, but the seams of class. ( p. 273)

Murray is careful to point out that “it is not the existence of classes that is new, but the emergence of classes that diverge on core behaviors and values—classes that barely recognize their underlying American kinship.” (p. 12)

Murray articulates the civil religion manifesto clearly, “The American project…consists of the continuing effort…to demonstrate that human beings can be left free as individuals and families to live their lives as they see fit, coming together voluntarily to solve their joint problems. The polity based on that idea led to a civic culture that was seen as exceptional by all the world. The culture was so widely shared among Americans that it amounted to a civil religion. To be an American was to be different from other nationalities, in ways that Americans treasured. That culture is unraveling.” (p. 12)

With great precision, Murray charts the disintegration of “founding virtues” that have made America exceptional among the nations of the world. He identifies four virtues that were emphasized by the founders’ of this country and consistently present through the ebb and flow of American history into the 1960’s. However, from the 1960’s to the present, Murray presents research that shows that something catastrophic has happened in the last fifty years. (more…)