Allah: A Christian Response, Miroslav Volf (HarperOne) Theologian Miroslav Volf grew up in war-ravaged Croatia, a nation wrecked by ethnic and religious violence between Christians and Muslims. As a result, this question of how Christians interact with Muslims comes from…
KINGDOM VISION: The most basic need
One of the most famous quotes by the great American-born writer, Henry James, is “Three things in human life are important: the first is to be kind; the second is to be kind; and the third is to be kind.”…
ASK THE ARCHITECT: Miscellany
Let’s take a break from our soup to nuts journey that began two years ago. Rather than writing about another leg in that overall process of planning, funding, and building your church project, this month’s column will be devoted to…
OPINION: The BJC at 75
I am finishing up a student internship with the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty. This year the BJC celebrates its 75th anniversary as a religious organization devoted solely to the protection of our first freedom. With offices located across…
Baptist chaplain on USS Enterprise wants shipmates ‘to see God in me’
NORFOLK, Va. — Baptist chaplain Fred Holcombe Jr. pastors a flock numbering 3,500 to 5,800 people — the population of a small town. But this “town” is more than 18 stories high, 1,123 feet long and takes up 4 1/2…
5K run hosted by Palmyra, Va., church benefits medical missions in Liberia
PALMYRA, Va. — It started as a coincidence, two churches on opposite sides of the Atlantic sharing an unusual name: Effort Baptist Church. This seemingly random discovery was the beginning of a powerful partnership between a congregation in a central…
In Applachian county, Baptist teens improve lives through Impact Virginia
BLUEFIELD, Va. — Two hundred thirty youth from 13 Baptist churches across Virginia converged on the campus of Bluefield College July 24-30 to make a difference in the lives of families in southwest Virginia through a faith-based community service project…
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…