Caroline Gwathmey Jones of King and Queen County, Va., was at once family-proud, place-proud and church-proud. She enjoyed sharing stories about the history of the Gwathmeys and the family seat, Canterbury; about her county and its long and illustrious part…
VIRGINIA BRIEFS
Bluefield launches social network. New Bluefield College students are getting to know one another, even before they step foot on the BC campus, thanks to a new social network called BC Bound. Designed by the college’s admissions office, BC Bound…
VITAL SIGNS: High anxiety
Anyone feeling anxious? A better question: anyone not feeling anxious? God’s people in the 21st century suffer a serious malady. We mouth the words of faithfulness while we live lives dominated by anxiety and frustration. For every time we parrot…
NORTH CAROLINA BRIEFS
Hispanic pastor facing deportation. A Hispanic Baptist pastor arrested last summer by immigration authorities will find out Sept. 2 whether he will be deported for a crime committed in 1995. Hector Villanueva, pastor of Bautista la Rocha in Siler City,…
OUT LOUD
“This Shariah law business is … just crazy. And I’m tired of dealing with the crazies. It’s just unnecessary to be accusing this guy of things just because of his religious background.” Chris Christie The Republican governor of New Jersey…
Virginia Baptist leaves Washington suburbs for two years in India
VIJAYAWADA, India — Radical obedience. That’s what Kristin Clifton’s life is all about these days. For the next two years, as a Virginia Baptist Venturer, Clifton will be living in Vijayawada, India. There she will be assisting B.V.R. Rao and…
Can technology usher in another Pentecost?
DALLAS (ABP) — Texas Baptists are partnering with a non-denominational ministry to harness online language-translation technology that advocates say could be the best tool for cross-cultural evangelism since Pentecost. Called Hope Chat, the tool harnesses the power of ABBY, an…
Equipping the equippers
RICHMOND, Va. (ABP) — Call it a buzz word, a euphemism for the emergent movement or a description of profound shifts in ecclesiology, the term "missional" is entrenched in the vocabulary of 21st century Christianity. Since 2002, Wilshire Baptist Church…
Traditional divinity program aids ministry in nontraditional contexts
WACO, Texas (ABP) — Students who serve in nontraditional ministry settings — whether a postmodern congregation, a cowboy church or something in-between — benefit from the foundation provided in a traditional seminary curriculum, some educators and ministry practitioners insist. Baylor…
Seminaries adapt to changing religious landscape
Changes in America's religious landscape have had enormous impact on seminaries. Mainline schools that once mainly trained ministers for their own denominations now welcome students of all denominational backgrounds. MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (ABP) —Six years after starting as a pilot project,…
Pastor renews call for database of clergy credibly accused of sex abuse
ENID, Okla. (ABP) – An Oklahoma pastor says the Southern Baptist Convention should reconsider a database to help safeguard churches from clergy who are sexual predators. Wade Burleson Wade Burleson, pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Enid, Okla., made a…
American Muslims hopeful about life in the U.S.
WASHINGTON (RNS) — Ten years after the 9/11 attacks, an extensive new survey of Muslims finds them as optimistic as other Americans, even as large minorities of Christian Americans question Muslims' loyalty to the United States. The survey, released by the…