As new film draws attention, Washington church recalls real butler as quiet man of steady faith Adelle M. Banks WASHINGTON (RNS) — Eugene Allen served eight presidents as a White House butler, and his legendary career is the inspiration for…
Photo
Eugene Allen, the man who inspired the title role of The Butler, is pictured in a 2006 photo from the 126th anniversary program of his church’s usher board. He is the farthest left person in the third row from…
Awkward question: How much to pay the pastor?
It may be one of the most uncomfortable —and sometimes contentious — questions in congregational life: How much should we pay our senior pastor? Ministers struggle between commitments to a self-sacrificial calling on the one hand and providing for their…
OPINION: Does it ever hurt to heal?
I recently heard and read about some potentially groundbreaking medical news. The basic gist of the news is that researchers at the University of Massachusetts medical school have found a way to essentially turn off the genetic material which causes…
Growing trend: Ministers saddled with seminary debt
When Congress overwhelmingly approved a measure last month to relieve spiraling student debt, churches probably didn’t realize the problem hits closer to home than expected — many pastors are leaving seminary and divinity school with tens of thousands of dollars…
LETTER: Shariah is threat to American freedoms
Why would any American support using foreign laws by our judicial system [“Political dilemma,” Herald, Aug 12]? That is an affront to all of us who swore to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. The seminal reference…
OPINION: Reflections from New York: History as song
As the old hymn Blessed Assurance goes, “This is my story. This is my song.” How beautiful a metaphor to understand our faith journey as a song. Throughout this summer at Metro Baptist Church, groups have come to New York…
HERITAGE: My dear Doctor Mac
In 1979 when I began my work at the Virginia Baptist Historical Society, I discovered several large wooden packing crates, full of crumbling file folders. They were the papers of George White McDaniel, a prominent minister — pastor of First…
HeraldBeat: Tracking Baptists across the Mid-Atlantic
Accepted a new call? Been ordained? Church celebrating an anniversary? Mission trip or project that you would like highlighted on the HeraldBeat page? Send info to HeraldBeat editor Barbara Francis at [email protected]. Transitions ON THE MOVE Darrell Boggs, to First…
EDITORIAL: What is wrong with us?
‘What is wrong with us?” It’s a question we’d better start asking. It reads like a work of twisted fiction rather than a factual account: “Bored” teens decide to kill somebody for the fun of it. Three boys, aged 15,…
VITAL SIGNS: Why faith and health are inseparable
Compartmentalization is the bane of authentic faith. When we begin to divide the realms of our life from one another, the end result looks very different than loving God with “all your heart, soul, mind and strength.” We become a…
For disaster relief volunteers, sense of call remains intact despite long hours and exhausting work
For many long-time Virginia Baptist disaster relief volunteers, the memories are clear — but the dates, places and events can be difficult to keep straight. Was it Hurricane Charlie in 2004 or Hugo in 1989 or Irene in 2011? Were…