John Upton, executive director of both the Baptist General Association of Virginia and the Virginia Baptist Mission Board, released this letter Oct. 15 following the Oct. 13-14 meeting of the Mission Board at Eagle Eyrie Baptist Conference Center: Dear Virginia…
From the Eastern Shore to Cumberland Gap
STAFF CHANGES • Jim Rizer, now serving as pastor of Burrows Memorial Church, Norfolk. • Matthew Tennant, to Kilmarnock Church, Kilmarnock, as pastor. INSTALLATION: Dan Stanley was installed as pastor of Berryville Baptist Church in Berryville on Sept. 13. On…
Students on Baptist college campuses directly address domestic hunger
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (ABP) — Students at two historic Baptist schools are taking Jesus’ command to feed the hungry and quench the thirsty quite literally. Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, N.C., and Baylor University in Waco, Texas, are feeding their communities…
RIGHT OR WRONG: How does the Old Testament relate to the New?
A member of our Bible study group insists we don’t need to bother much with the Old Testament, because “we are New Testament people.” Do you think we should uphold ethical values and virtues from the Old Testament? If so,…
All churches urged to participate in the Annual Church Profile
RICHMOND — Each year through the Annual Church Profile (ACP) process, Virginia Baptist churches submit important data, including information about church leadership, membership, finances, baptisms, Sunday school, discipleship, missions and Vacation Bible School. The ACP is a statistical testimony to…
Activists on left, right share faith but differ dramatically on everything else
WASHINGTON (RNS) — A new report confirmed long-held assumptions about religious activists from the left and right. The only thing both sides seem to have in common — faith — is a more important part of their lives than among the…
Values voters at annual summit see little value in health care reform
WASHINGTON — Health care reform may be Priority No. 1 in Congress and at the White House, but for the 1,825 religious conservatives who gathered for the annual Values Voter Summit, the subject was barely on their radar screen. Indeed,…
FAITH DIGEST
Winners named to American Jewish Hall of Fame. After more than 209,000 votes from around the world, 18 men and women have been chosen for the new National Museum of American Jewish History’s Hall of Fame. Based on the poll…
Interaction between science and theology beneficial to both, minister/physicist insists
ATLANTA (ABP) — There are paths between science and theology, and both can find value in interaction, noted author and professor of science and theology Robert Russell told an audience at Mercer University’s McAfee School of Theology. Russell, founder and…
Only one church in three spiritually vital, study says
HARTFORD, Conn. (ABP) — A congregation’s health depends less on theology than methodology, according to a national study by Hartford Seminary’s Institute for Religion Research. Faith Communities Today 2008 paints an overall sobering picture of congregational life in America. Congregations…
OUT LOUD
“Our Founding Fathers had one thing in mind when they founded this country, and it was a Christian nation built upon the principles of Jesus Christ.” GEORGIA STATE REP. JAY NEAL Neal spoke at a rally protesting a school superintendent’s…
SECOND OPINION: What are top challenges facing Baptists?
The answer to the question, “What are the top challenges facing Baptists today?” depends on whom you ask, doesn’t it? Comedians might remind us that the call to have more children to buttress evangelistic efforts guarantees Baptist survival. Some Southern…