Dear Jimmy, Well, I don't have much to say, but since I hadn't bent your ear in a good long while, I decided to put off my laundry and write you a long letter. Your Uncle Orley and I just…
How to ‘flunk’ retirement
RICHMOND, Va. (BP) — “Old soldiers never die; they just fade away,” Gen. Douglas MacArthur observed in the twilight of his long military career. Retired missionaries, on the other hand, just keep returning to the field — or finding new…
Lewis, Bloomer, Bloxom to be nominees for BGAV offices
RICHMOND — Joseph T. Lewis, current first vice president of the Baptist General Association of Virginia, will be presented as a nominee for president when the BGAV meets Nov. 13-14 in Richmond. Lewis, one of three nominees voted at the…
News about Virginia Baptists and their ministries for September 20, 2007
STAFF CHANGES • Stephen J. Crane, to Poplar Springs Church, Richmond, as senior pastor. • Michael Sampson, to Cowans Branch Church, Gate City, as pastor. He had been serving as interim pastor. • Mark Holland, to Bethlehem Church, Penick Road,…
Connect 2007
RICHMOND — Connect: 2007, the 184th annual meeting of the Baptist General Association of Virginia, will be held Nov. 13-14 at the Greater Richmond Convention Center. The theme is “Hope is On the Way.” Featuring more videos and other multi-media…
Ministers hear call through many voices
God uses a variety of voices in calling people to Christian service, veteran ministers agreed, pointing to their own experience. In Joel Thielepape's case, two voices figured prominently—a representative of the New York Yankees who delivered a discouraging word and…
Hearing the Call
Hearing God's call to vocational service may not be as easy in a Baptist church as it once was, but some congregations are determined to change that. Once upon a time, a public invitation at the close of the sermon…
FIRST PERSON: Baptist ministry at JMU makes impact
“Preach the gospel at all times and, if necessary, use words.” These words from St. Francis of Assisi encapsulate the passion and drive of the Christian Student Union at James Madison University, a collegiate ministry of Baptist Collegiate Ministries of…
EDITORIAL: The sustaining power of a call
Earlier this month a kind of posthumous autobiography was published: Mother Teresa: Come, Be My Light. Have you ever wondered what in heaven's name God was up to? Of course you have. During the periods of your life when your…
New issue of Heritage Seekers on the Bible is released
Adoniram and Ann Judson are the featured Baptist heroes in the new issue of Heritage Seekers, the magazine for children and families published by the Center for Baptist Heritage & Studies. The theme of the issue is “Baptists and God's…
California pastor, seminary president to join SBC presidential contest
SAN FRANCISCO (ABP) — Bill Wagner, California college president and pastor who also was a long-time employee of the Southern Baptist Convention's International Mission Board, has said he will run for the SBC presidency next year. Wagner, who wrote How…
Pastors collaborate on new SBC blog
NEW YORK (ABP) — Four conservative pastors have joined the increasingly wild and wooly frontier of blogs discussing the state of the Southern Baptist Convention. Robin Foster, Wes Kenney, Tim Rogers, and Joe Stewart have announced the launch of a…