Why a regular column about healthy churches and healthy ministers? Some would argue that such a thing doesn’t exist. For far too many clergy and laity alike, healthy is not the word they use to describe their life in a…
EDITORIAL: Pewboy discovers theology
Pewboy was like a kid in a candy store. To be more precise, he was like an avid fisherman meandering through a boat show. He liked each one he saw better than the last. In his mind, he could see…
Churches have wide variety of options for greening their facilities
It’s not easy building green. But churches that take the call to wise environmental stewardship seriously have a wide variety of options — from simply changing light bulbs to elaborate new construction projects certified as environmentally friendly. The key, experts…
From the Eastern Shore to Cumberland Gap
STAFF CHANGES • Dennis Smith, to Jeffersonton Church, Jeffersonton, as pastor. • Donnie Owen, resigning as pastor of Bethesda Church, Boydton. • Brian Williams, to White Stone Church, White Stone, as interim pastor. • Bob Smith, to Bagby Memorial Church,…
Virginia Baptists to field Haiti medical teams as snow postpones relief efforts
RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia Baptists will field two medical teams this month to aid victims of Haiti’s devastating earthquake and qualified volunteers are being sought to fill them, a disaster relief leader says. The announcement comes as contributions for relief…
Swiss aren’t only ones who resist mosque construction
WASHINGTON (RNS) — When Switzerland recently voted to ban construction of minaret towers at mosques, some observers interpreted it as an expression of European xenophobia that never would find a home in multicultural America. But to say it couldn’t happen…
Virginia church makes Galveston more livable in hurricane’s wake
GALVESTON, Texas — A team of Virginia college students used their winter break to make a couple of Galveston homes a bit more livable. Virginia Baptist students made this house in Galveston a bit more livable. More than a year…
Baptist Center seeks applicants for Heritage Fellows program
RICHMOND, Va. — The Center for Baptist Heritage and Studies is seeking applicants for the 2010-11 class of Heritage Fellows, a program of intensive training in Baptist history and heritage. The program is open to Baptist students who will be…
Martin Marty offers no easy predictions for Baptists’ next 400 years
WACO, Texas — Nobody can predict with certainty what the next 400 years hold for Baptists — or for any religious denomination, church historian Martin Marty told a gathering at Baylor University. But Marty, professor emeritus at the University of…
FAITH DIGEST
Sydney bishop dresses down casual clergy. An Anglican bishop in Australia’s largest city has dressed down his clergy over their lack of sartorial style. “Why are our clergy the worst dressed people in church?” wrote Bishop Robert Forsyth of South…
ASK THE ARCHITECT: Forming a building committee
Let’s continue the thought of last month’s article in which we established the commitment to follow God’s lead first and then identified building program generators. Simply stated, such a program begins when we recognize needs. Any one or more indicators…
Faced with scandal, Haggard’s wife tells why she stayed
Under similar circumstances, many women would have kicked their husbands to the couch. Or the curb. But for Gayle Haggard, the gay sex-and-drug scandal that toppled her husband’s ministry was simply “the mountain we had to go over.” And now,…