CARTHAGE, N.C. (ABP) — First Baptist Church in Carthage, N.C., designed its fellowship hall to be used in a disaster. But church leaders expected it would be a hurricane or a flood — not a mass shooting at a local…
Baptists open center at site of Jesus’ baptism
AMMAN, Jordan (ABP) — Baptist leaders and other dignitaries — including former British Prime Minister Tony Blair — took part in a ceremony March 20 dedicating a new evangelical Christian baptism center at the Jordanian spot traditionally regarded as the…
For the Bible tells me so
Last year, sacred music composer Christopher Teichler noted a disturbing paradox. The widely observed decline in biblical literacy among American Christians has paralleled a growing interest in developing new and enriched ways of worshipping. Some ministers are saying a bracing…
SECOND OPINION: The source and cure for what ails us
For more than a decade I hosted a nationally syndicated talk show. I read five newspapers a day, 30 journals a month and a few books a week. All of that helped me learn to spot certain trends, and all…
Bebber’s ministry in D.C. challenges visiting churches to take ministry home
WASHINGTON — Many walk the streets of Washington, D.C., with no place to call home. And, for most, it’s something they never planned or a place they’d never thought they’d be. But life threw difficulties their way — a few…
Offering given for churches in financial crisis
I have had the privilege of pastoring seven fine Virginia Baptist churches during the past 45 years. During these years of service I have developed a great appreciation for our Virginia Baptist mission work and a love for our Virginia…
Natural selection not a rejection of God or faith
A friend at the Virginia Council of Churches shared with me the recent issue of the Religious Herald in which John Klink wrote, “We must be careful not to let ourselves be deceived by the lies of the theory of…
FAITH DIGEST
Faith lowers stress, research suggests. Canadian researchers have discovered strong religious convictions can lower stress and enhance the performance of basic tasks. A team in Toronto put 28 students through tests measuring both levels of religious observance and stress caused…
Jimmy Carter: Christians have duty to pursue peace in Holy Land
WASHINGTON (RNS) — Former President Jimmy Carter’s recent book, We Can Have Peace in the Holy Land: A Plan that Will Work, reviews the contributions of past U.S. presidents toward peace in Israel and Palestine, and advances his hopes that…