VIRGINIA BEACH — W. Jerry Holcomb, a Virginia Baptist pastor for nearly 40 years and former president of the Baptist General Association of Virginia, died Oct. 28 in a Virginia Beach hospital. He was 73. Holcomb was pastor of King’s…
Richmond association seeks to clarify values, member criteria to bridge divide over homosexuality
RICHMOND — The Richmond Baptist Association has authorized a study committee to clarify the association’s values and restructure its membership model in an attempt to resolve deep division among its churches over a decision last spring not to dismiss an…
Leader of SBC’s religious liberty group defends town’s ‘legislative prayers’
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) — The Southern Baptist Convention’s top expert on religious liberty concerns says the U.S. Supreme Court should uphold a New York town’s practice of opening its city council meetings with sectarian prayer. “A prayer, by definition, isn't…
Bestselling author Malcolm Gladwell describes return to faith while writing David and Goliath
(RNS) — Author Malcolm Gladwell may not be known for writing on religion. His New York Times best-selling books The Tipping Point, Outliers, Blink and What the Dog Saw deal with the unexpected twists in social science research. But his…
Can online Communion be a substitute for the real thing?
(RNS) — As online worship becomes more common in some churches, leaders within the United Methodist Church are debating whether the denomination should condone online Communion. About 30 denominational leaders met recently after Central United Methodist Church in Concord, N.C.,…
LETTER: Those who embrace ‘wrong’ theology don’t support violence
Concerning the article about the conference in Washington to raise awareness of the plight of Palestinian Christians, I am one of those who embraces the “wrong” theology, that Israel belongs to the Jews. In Genesis 17:8, God said to Abraham,…
VIEWPOINT: Biblical sites abound in nation whose people embrace visitors from abroad
The most common question I got from people when they learned that I was traveling to Jordan was, “Do you think it is safe?” My response was, “I don’t think the Jordanian government would invite us unless they thought it…
BJC opposes official prayers during local government meetings
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Opening local government meetings with prayer violates the conscience of not just religious minorities, but also of Christians who believe that worship must be voluntary, a Baptist church-state group argues in a legal brief filed in the…
Some delight, other worry about effort to canonize British writer G.K. Chesterton
CANTERBURY, England (RNS) — Christians and Jews are mounting campaigns for and against a path to sainthood for British writer G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936), one of the world’s best-known Catholic converts. Roman Catholic Bishop Peter Doyle of Northampton, where Chesterton lived…