in a recent Leadership Link on deacon training, I asked readers to share some of their thoughts about basic training for deacons. Cliff Hudgins of the Pittsylvania Baptist Association believes only about 15 percent of newly-elected deacons receive training. As…
VITAL SIGNS: Creatively outrageous congregations
I recently heard an interview with George Lois, a leader in the advertising world in the 1950s who helped revolutionize the industry. His innovations transformed advertising and made several of his clients into household names. I found his comments about…
OPINION: Living the resurrection
“Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you ….” We can picture the scene in Luke’s Gospel quite well. After walking with Jesus, hearing his message…
WINN RECOMMENDS
God’s Right Hand Man, Michael Winters (HarperOne) Winters, a respected journalist who’s written for the Times, the Post and The New Republic, offers a fascinating account of how Jerry Falwell “made God a Republican and baptized the American Right.” Neither…
OPINION: The best worst movie
I’m thinking about authenticity. It seems to be a theme right now in my life—in relationships, in church, in community, in relationship with God. People often say they are looking for authenticity but I’m wondering what we actually mean by…
LETTER: Thanks to church
I am a member of Huguenot Road Baptist Church in Richmond, Va., and I work for the Ministering to Ministers Foundation. I just read the article about Doug Hart from Sandston and the difficulties he and his family are going…
OPINION: I thought this only happened in church!
I was at breakfast with my son at the local diner in downtown Gaithersburg, Md. Oatmeal for me. Pancakes and bacon for him. He's 14 and I'm 41, so our ages and our meals are both reversed. A man vaguely…
Pastors’ school to feature Brueggemann, McConnell
BOILING SPRINGS, N.C.—Old Testament scholar Walter Brueggemann will be the featured speaker at Gardner-Webb University’s Pastors’ School, set for May 28-30 on the Boiling Springs, N.C., campus. Brueggemann and Jim McConnell, professor of New Testament at the school, will develop…
Longwood’s BCM holds alumni reunion
FARMVILLE, Va.—More than 70 graduates from every decade since the 1940s participated in the recent third biennial reunion of Longwood University’s Baptist Collegiate Ministries Alumni Association. Dinner in Longwood BCM's newly-expanded facility was a highlight of its recent alumni reunion….
Rallies raise awareness of need for more foster parents
SALEM, Va.—Mention the word orphan and typically what comes to mind are children in impoverished nations around the globe. Virginia Baptists’ HopeTree Family Services and other faith-based organizations in Virginia are seeking to change that image and get the word…
TRENDING: Four emerging ministry and staffing patterns
1. “Oikos” grows. As Millenniels pass Boomers as the largest generation, LifeWay Research indicates that top priority among the Millennial generation is family. With the disintegration of nuclear family in North American life through proliferating divorce, extended family or…
LEADERSHIP LINK: Transitions—Turning into life’s skids
Can you picture it? You’re driving on a slippery road. Your car suddently careens out of control. Things happen in the blink of an eye—most of them bad. Your brain switches automatically into survival mode. You panic and react instinctively….