RICHMOND, Va. — The Richmond Baptist Association has chosen one of its own pastors to serve as its next director of missions. J. Michael Robinson, who has been pastor of New Covenant Baptist Church in Henrico County since 1995, was…
Photo competition aids Haiti, honors renowned Baptist photographer
MIDLOTHIAN, Va. — A photo exhibit and competition sponsored by Winfree Memorial Baptist Church in Midlothian will raise money for victims of last January’s devastating earthquake in Haiti and honor an award-winning photojournalist whose work illustrated decades of Baptist mission…
INTERVIEW: Pastor says the biker culture needs more than ministry
Jim Denton is pastor of Gethsemane Baptist Church in Richlands, Va. He has contended for years that the biker culture is one that needs more than a ministry — it needs a church. Religious Herald editor Jim White spoke with…
Baptist bikers ascend Eagle Eyrie mountain for annual gathering
LYNCHBURG, Va. — On the first weekend in October, the roar of throbbing motorcycles pierced the stillness of the gorgeous fall weather as bikers converged on Eagle Eyrie, Virginia Baptists’ conference center in Lynchburg. Randy Ashcraft (left) and Jim Denton…
From the Eastern Shore to Cumberland Gap
STAFF CHANGES • Kenny Horne, to Greenbriar Church, Vansant, as pastor. PERFECT ATTENDANCE: Clover Bottom Baptist Church, Nathalie, celebrated the 46th year of perfect attendance in Sunday school of one of its members, Janie Crews, on Sept. 26. Pictured at…
Who are evangelicals?
(ABP) — When evangelist Billy Graham, social activist Jim Wallis, pastor Rick Warren, theologian Al Mohler and author Brian McLaren all can fit under the umbrella term “evangelical,” some theological and cultural observers wonder if the term has lost its…
Moderate Baptists uneasy about evangelical baggage
(ABP) — Are supporters of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and Mainstream Baptist groups evangelicals? The answer is yes and no. Formed in reaction to the Southern Baptist Convention’s shift to the far right in the late 1980s and early 1990s, both…
Definitions of ‘evangelical’ vary
(ABP) — The National Association of Evangelicals and Christian researcher George Barna offer two definitions of the term "evangelical." The National Association of Evangelicals has a seven-point statement of faith. Members affirm they believe: • The Bible is the inspired,…
Congregations struggle to become diverse, retain diversity
WACO, Texas (ABP) — More than a half-century after Martin Luther King Jr., declared 11 a.m. on Sunday the most segregated hour in America, nine in 10 congregations still have a single racial group that accounts for more than 80 percent…
California Baptists advise churches to add marriage definition to bylaws
FRESNO, Calif. (ABP) — The California Southern Baptist Convention is offering advice that churches revise their bylaws to anticipate possible changes in the legal definition of marriage. An article on the convention website advises that "a simple bylaw amendment can…
LifeWay background-check service finds hundreds of felonies
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) — Discounted criminal-background checks offered by LifeWay Christian Resources found more than 600 felony offenses in checks for the 900-plus churches and organizations that have purchased the service in its first two years. Since contracting with backgroundchecks.com…
Who are evangelicals? Some wonder if the term has lost its meaning
When evangelist Billy Graham, social activist Jim Wallis, pastor Rick Warren, theologian Al Mohler and author Brian McLaren all can fit under the umbrella term “evangelical,” some theological and cultural observers wonder if the term has lost its meaning. And…