NEW YORK (ABP) — A spokeswoman for Westboro Baptist Church said on national radio Jan. 17 that people should be less concerned about the group's presence near funerals of fallen soldiers than with their message that America faces God's judgment…
Church gives away new home
DEXTER, Mo. (ABP) — As the area's economy continued to decline, Missouri Baptist pastor Steve Easterwood asked himself, "What can our church do to help?" The church where Easterwood is senior pastor, responded, "Let's give away a house." First Baptist…
Tireless retirees help burned-out church rise from ashes
ATHENS, Texas (ABP) — One year after Lake Athens Baptist Church lost its building to arson — and the same week two young men received life sentences for burning a string of East Texas churches — —more than 30 Texas…
CBF leaders join in CCT response to King’s jail letter
ATLANTA (ABP) — Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Executive Coordinator Daniel Vestal and Moderator-elect Colleen Burroughs have issued a historic letter in response to Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1963 “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” The statement responding to King’s letter emerged from the…
Religious Herald marks 183 years
RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia Baptist leaders and Religious Herald staff gathered in downtown Richmond Jan. 11 to mark the day 183 years earlier the Virginia Baptist newsjournal published its first issue. Marking the Herald’s 183rd anniversary were (from left) Jim…
From the Eastern Shore to the Cumberland Gap
STAFF CHANGES • Robert Brown, to Black-stone Church, Blackstone, as pastor. • Ben Sturgis, to Orchard Drive Church, Bassett, as pastor. • Kevin Wirt, to Pleasant Hill Church, Daleville, as pastor. • Matthew McCraney, to Rock Hill Church, Stafford, as…
VIRGINIA BAPTIST FORUM: Protests dropping of Herald subscription
I would like to protest. Since 1975 I have been a member of BGAV churches. I am a retired pastor, a member of Story Creek Baptist Church in Franklin County. I protest having to pay for a copy of the…
ASK THE ARCHITECT: Master plan criteria
Whether your church is relocating to a new site or expanding within your existing property, there are a number of master plan criteria to consider. The following will impact the shaping of your master plan — they are the specific…
VITAL SIGNS: A year of ‘gracious uncertainty’
On the threshold of a new decade in our new millennium, there is a pervasive mood among God's people: uncertainty. We hear it weekly from clergy and laity alike, usually around a specific concern regarding employment or finances or conflict…
OUT LOUD
“In hindsight, maybe it wasn’t the smart thing to do, you know. I should have been more careful where I left it, or whatever.” Sgt. Matthew Neu The officer in the Manatee County, Fla., sheriff’s office was quoted in a…
HERITAGE: A Virginia gentleman
Mary Rives Black, a resident of Lakewood Manor, remembers watching young Lawson Pankey, about age 4, padding down the aisle of Elon Baptist Church at Pamplin where her father was pastor. The little boy was headed to the most enticing…
Committee chair seeks 2011 nominees for service within the BGAV
There is nothing more exhilarating than to be a part of something big. Think about our mission as Virginia Baptists. In partnership with the Holy Spirit, we work together to “advance our Redeemer’s Kingdom.” What could be bigger than that? This kind of…