Men just released from state prisons in Huntsville, Texas, arrived by bus in Fort Worth and gathered at the Tarrant County Probation Office. But before they re-entered the free world, they heard straight talk from someone who understood what they…
Rising stress boosts clergy depression
Bryan Hatcher was a Baptist pastor once, so he gets it when ministers buckle under the strain of long work weeks, budget pressures and that feeling of constantly being in a fish bowl. And because he has since provided years…
OUT LOUD
“We have stories about child molesters, murders and all kinds of vicious, barbaric acts of evil committed by heinous criminals on our front page, and yet we never receive a call from anyone saying ‘I don’t need my children reading…
EDITORIAL: The power of forgiveness to heal — and evangelize
“And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” — Jesus Mike Steenkamp sat erect in his South African home before the CNN camera and delivered a statement many are finding simplistic and confusing. In the…
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 Terry Morrison, to Whitehead’s…
OPINION: On faith and science
When reading the Religious Herald the other day, a headline caught my eye: “Study says faith, science not at odds.” Opening the page I was greeted with a review of a recently published study out of MIT declaring the divide…
Hampton church calls Betty Mills as pastor, making it largest congregation in Va. led by woman
HAMPTON, Va. — Richmond pastor Betty Mills has been called as senior pastor of the 222-year-old Hampton (Va.) Baptist Church, making it likely the largest Baptist congregation in Virginia led by a woman pastor. Betty Mills For 23 years, Mills…
OPINION: How does that make you feel?
“How does that make you feel?” As a Clinical Pastoral Education graduate, I’ve been asked that question more than a few times. It never set well with me. You can only come out as a clear ENTJ on the Meyers…
Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, American Baptist Churches explore closer ties
ATLANTA (ABP) — Leaders of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and the American Baptist Churches USA met recently in Philadelphia and Atlanta to explore closer cooperation between the two groups, interim Coordinator Pat Anderson told the CBF Coordinating Council Feb. 22….
VITAL SIGNS: Resistant or resilient: A critical distinction
Two of the more important words for a congregation to ponder in the 21st century are resistant and resilient. Which of those two words better describe your congregation (and you) may well determine whether your congregation is viable in the…
OPINION: A surveyor’s map
There is a bridge to nowhere where I love to go. The sculpture is a meandering walkway of wood and steel that rises into the trees with seemingly no real purpose whatsoever. As I approach the entrance I have two…
Church offers community a way to dispose of documents — and shred some sins in the process
ROCKVILLE, Va. — It began with a cluttered office and the need to dispose of numerous boxes of financial records, explains Mark Hughes, pastor of Berea Baptist Church in Rockville, Va. Realizing that properly destroying sensitive information would require more…