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…
BJC’s Walker recognized for advancing religious liberty
RICHMOND, Va. (ABP) — Baptist Joint Committee Executive Director J. Brent Walker was recognized Jan. 13 for his work advancing freedom of conscience and basic human rights for people of all faiths, traditions and cultures. BJC executive director Brent Walker…
BJC’s Walker recognized for advancing religious liberty
RICHMOND, Va. (ABP)—Baptist Joint Committee Executive Director J. Brent Walker was recognized Jan. 13 for his work advancing freedom of conscience and basic human rights for people of all faiths, traditions and cultures. Walker was named the Virginia First Freedom…
Missouri Baptists begin search for new leader
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (ABP) — The Missouri Baptist Convention Executive Board met in special session on Jan. 14 and appointed a subcommittee that will recommend members of an executive director search committee. The information was released in a press statement following…
Seminary gives association six months to vacate property
FORT WORTH, Texas (ABP) — Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary notified Tarrant Baptist Association before Christmas it had six months to vacate its offices on the edge of the seminary campus. The seminary asserted the association was in violation of its…
Mentoring offers ministry students an important support system
DALLAS (ABP) — While a seminary degree can be an important component of a pastor’s toolbox, relationships with other pastors can be just as important — if not more so, according to some Texas Baptists who work with students preparing for…
Life coaching makes its way into churches
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (ABP) — Career coaching has been around in the business field for decades. More recently, it spun off a concept of life coaching. Now, the coaching concept is starting to make its impact in churches. Most experts credit…
Academy for Spiritual Formation blends discipline, community
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP)—Growing up in a Baptist church and later working part-time as a youth minister, Johnny Sears always believed his faith had to go deeper than a set of beliefs or activities. “How do we take prayer from being…