If they have ears to hear, Baptists in places like the United States’ Bible Belt, where Christianity is the norm, can learn lessons from Baptist minorities in other parts of the world, Baptist World Alliance leaders insist. Many Baptists in…
OPINION: God moved into the neighborhood
Have you ever had the opportunity to drive through an old neighborhood and thought, “Why haven’t they just bulldozed this whole place? This is a mess! This is an eyesore! The people still living here should get a medal.” Jonathan…
At Women’s Get-Away, participants challenged to hear and tell stories of God’s work in their lives
LYNCHBURG, Va. — Fall colors and bright sunshine highlighted the Nov. 1-3 Women’s Get-Away, an annual event sponsored by Woman’s Missionary Union of Virginia, which this year drew almost 800 women to Eagle Eyrie Baptist Conference Center around the theme,…
TRENDING: Leaders as motivators
Tyler Cowen teaches economics at George Mason University. He has been nominated as one of the top 100 global thinkers by his peers. The Wall Street Journal opines that he may be “this decade’s Thomas Friedman.” He has written widely…
Ruling removes what has been called the most important tax benefit available to ministers
(ABP) — A federal judge said Nov. 23 that an IRS rule allowing clergy to avoid paying taxes on a part of their income designated as a housing allowance violates the constitutionally mandated separation of church and state. Senior United…
LEADERSHIP LINK: Prophets: champions of compassion
Prophets are rare today. Traditionally, they expose our blind spots, unclog our deaf ears and rub raw our calloused hearts. Mostly, these pesky truth-tellers enlarge our world’s vision. Prophets point us to God’s kingdom, awaken our consciences and stir our compassion….
VITAL SIGNS: Making sense of change
Everywhere I look, I see transitions underway as we close out 2013. Whether it be friends in the news business, local congregations, ministers in transition, my own employment situation or significant family transitions, everyone is undergoing some sort of change….
HERITAGE: An overlooked story
Lynn Blue, minister of music at Poplar Springs Baptist Church near Richmond, is interested in his family’s history and shared with the Virginia Baptist Historical Society an overlooked story about one of his ancestors. Blue grew up in Richmond and…
OPINION: What art can be made of this?
“SLAVE.” The word, painted in a gray scrawl under an abstract skeletal figure, confronts me every time I walk into my house. Sometimes accusing, sometimes sympathetic, the painting hanging on the wall in our entry is both beautiful and disturbing….