As I write, I am sitting on a wooden bench in a prayer garden in the shade of a huge guanacaste (enterolobium ciclocarpun) tree in Santa Clara, Panama. Strains of “Victory in Jesus” waft from the distant chapel on a…
HERITAGE: Climbing mountains
She called herself “a plain Jane.” She insisted — rightly and proudly so — that she was a housewife. True enough, she was devoted to her husband, “Greg,” and to her three sons — Harry, Gene and Joel. She did…
VITAL SIGNS: Asleep at church
A couple of years ago, we tried something radical on Wednesday evenings at our church. Over the course of five weeks, we had prayer meeting. This was not simply the hospital list prayer meeting — this was honest prayer. One…
OUT LOUD
“I also would have steered clear of politics. I’m grateful for the opportunities God gave me to minister to people in high places; people in power have spiritual and personal needs like everyone else, and often they have no one…
Innkeepers found guilty for turning away gay couple
LONDON (RNS) — Two Christian innkeepers have been convicted of sexual discrimination for refusing to allow a gay couple to share a double room at their hotel in Cornwall, England. Peter and Hazelmary Bull also were ordered by the Bristol…
INTERVIEW: Evangelists’ son reflects on culture and Christians
When Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker’s PTL ministry and Heritage USA theme park crashed and burned in the 1980s, their son Jay was sent into a dizzying downward spiral of drugs, alcohol and running from God. Now the pastor of…
Va. House of Delegates passes prayer amendment to state constitution
RICHMOND, Va. — The Virginia House of Delegates passed an amendment to the state constitution Feb. 1 which supporters said would ensure the right to pray on public property, including public schools. The amendment, adopted 61-33 in the Republican-dominated House,…
Top 100 churches in total gifts to Cooperative Missions listed
The top 100 Baptist General Association of Virginia churches in total gifts to Cooperative Missions in 2010 have been announced. In order to appear on the list, the church must have both contributed to Cooperative Missions in 2010 and have…
Dover association keeps promise to feed families
GLEN ALLEN, Va. — Keeping a promise is a big deal. Whether it’s a commitment to make changes that will make a difference in your life, a promise to family or friends or one made to God, promises are important….
Kentucky Baptists cut jobs, freeze salaries
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (ABP) — The Kentucky Baptist Convention announced job cuts Jan. 31 intended to free up more money for national and international ministries of the Southern Baptist Convention. Five full-time jobs and 19 part-time jobs are being eliminated. Employees…
Clergy abuse cases move through legal system
BENTON, Ark. (ABP) — A music minister convicted of molesting young boys at a Southern Baptist church in Arkansas got a parole hearing two years into a 10-year prison sentence, while a British Baptist minister jailed in Virginia for similar…
Morris Ashcraft, longtime Baptist educator, dies
EVANSTON, Ill. (ABP) — Morris Ashcraft, a longtime seminary professor and administrator who after retiring helped establish a free-standing seminary for moderates disenfranchised by the "conservative resurgence" in the Southern Baptist Convention, died Jan. 29 after a long illness. He…