Jan. 1 not only marked the beginning of a new year, but also saw the first Baby Boomers turn 65 years old. And congregations face the evolving challenge of finding ways to minister with and to them. Bill Pigott, state…
What makes ministry to older adults more effective?
Ministry to older adults must take many forms, depending upon the make-up of the group a church is trying to reach. As the U.S. population ages, congregations will have even more opportunities to engage older adults. Richard Martin, newly retired,…
RIGHT or WRONG? Words matter
Words matter. So, I felt put off when speakers at a Baptist meeting filled the air with ministerial jargon, insider language, clichés and sexist comments. Can such misuse of language help explain the decline in church attendance and Christian commitment?…
Religious persecution more prevalent, more severe in Muslim countries
WASHINGTON (RNS) — The New Year’s Day massacre at a Coptic church in Egypt. Christian converts facing the death penalty in Afghanistan. Swastikas painted on a Jewish synagogue in Venezuela. As the headlines deliver fresh stories of the persecution of…
FAITH DIGEST
Moral climate poor, Americans say. Three out of four Americans grade the country’s moral climate at a “C” or below, according to a recent poll. The Public Religion Research Institute/Religion News Service poll found Americans older than 65 (46 percent)…
Rosa Parks enshrined in stone at Washington National Cathedral
WASHINGTON (RNS) — Six feet above the vaulted entranceway to Washington National Cathedral, the rough contours of Rosa Parks’ face are taking shape. Using a motorized hammer and chiseling tools that date back centuries, stone carver Sean Callahan is working…
Belmont adds sexual orientation to anti-discrimination policy
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) — Belmont University trustees voted Jan. 26 to add sexual orientation to the historically Baptist school’s anti-discrimination policy. In December Belmont parted ways with a successful women’s soccer coach after she told her team that she and…
India’s Supreme Court changes ruling after protest by Christians
FALLS CHURCH, Va. (ABP) — India's Supreme Court amended a ruling upholding a life-in-prison sentence for two men convicted of murdering a Baptist missionary and his two young sons 12 years ago by removing language that critics said appeared to…
Wiley Drake mulling run for president of Southern Baptist Convention
BUENA PARK, Calif. (ABP) — A former Southern Baptist Convention vice president criticized by denominational leaders two years ago for controversial comments concerning Barack Obama is considering allowing his nomination for SBC president in 2011. Wiley Drake, pastor of First…
CBF carries on ministry in Haiti one year after quake
ATLANTA (ABP) — As Haiti marked the one-year anniversary Jan. 12 of a devastating earthquake that claimed an estimated 300,000 lives and displaced more than 1 million people, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship field personnel and relief workers battled a cholera epidemic…
Another gun massacre? Let’s buy more guns!
By David Gushee And so Tucson joins Columbine, Virginia Tech, Fort Hood, the Pennsylvania Amish schoolchildren, the Long Island Railroad killings, the Wisconsin church shooting and others. They come upon us one after another. Who can even remember them all?…
Academy for Spiritual Formation blends learning, discipline, community
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) — Growing up in a Baptist church and later working part-time as a youth minister, Johnny Sears always believed his faith had to go deeper than a set of beliefs or activities. “How do we take prayer…