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…
OPINION: News from D.C. you may have missed
Tumultuous debate over the debt ceiling largely overshadowed something of extraordinary importance that happened recently in Washington. Participants from more 300 colleges gathered at the White House to participate in the President’s Interfaith and Community Service Campus Challenge. They convened…
WINN RECOMMENDS
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…
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…