Jon Acuff is the author of the satirical blog Stuff Christians Like and a book by the same title published by Zondervan. In about two years, Acuff has taken a start-up blog from obscurity to more than 1.5 million readers,…
FAITH DIGEST
United States ties for fifth place in global giving. The United States tied with Switzerland for fifth place in a worldwide giving index by the British-based Charities Aid Foundation that measures charitable behavior across the globe. The ranking was based…
Jimmy Carter discharged from hospital
CLEVELAND (ABP) — Former President Jimmy Carter was discharged Sept. 30 after two nights in a Cleveland hospital for what doctors say was a stomach virus. A joint statement by MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland and the Carter Center in…
British Baptist minister faces sexual-battery charges
FAIRFAX, Va. (ABP) — A former British Baptist minister jailed in Virginia on molestation charges made a court appearance Sept. 23. Robert Dando Robert Dando, former pastor of Worcester Park Baptist Church in Surrey, United Kingdom, is being held without…
Baptist prof and civil-rights advocate dies
WAKE FOREST, N.C. (ABP) — A long-time Wake Forest University religion professor active in the Civil Rights Movement died Sept. 29. McLeod Bryan, 90, is being remembered not only for his own work for peace and justice, but also for…
VIRGINIA BAPTIST FORUM: Keep state control of alcohol sales
Concerning Virginia selling its ABC stores, I regret that my friend Dan Pope evidently does not understand the basic law of merchandising, which is “the greater the distribution of the product, the greater the sale of that product” [“State should…
VIRGINIA BAPTIST FORUM: Pot calling the kettle black
Dear Aunt Ida, I was appalled and somewhat embarrassed to open up my copy of the Religious Herald of Sept. 2 and see a private e-mail that you had sent to your nephew, Jimmy, plastered across page five of that…
European Baptist leaders go ahead with plan to move Prague seminary
ROME (ABP) — The elegant complex of 19th-century buildings that houses the International Baptist Theological Seminary in Prague, Czech Republic, will likely be sold after European Baptist Federation leaders green-lighted a plan to move the seminary as a cost-saving measure….
Rural churches measure growth differently, pastors say
DALLAS — Brand New Church in northern Arkansas and Fairy Baptist Church in Central Texas bear little resemblance to each other. Pastor Shannon O’Dell leads a multi-campus, contemporary-style church in rural Arkansas that draws about 2,000 worshippers in-person from throughout…
Population shifts present challenges for rural churches
CHATHAM, Va. — Rural churches in America face a host of challenges as they seek to continue ministry in their communities. The continued population shift from rural areas to urban centers can drain rural churches, noted Chuck Warnock, an expert in…
Some rural churches see calling in providing a lab for training ministers
WACO, Texas — Rural churches, particularly those within driving distance of a seminary or denominational college or university, often become training grounds for ministerial staff. “Some churches see that as their ministry,” noted Judy Battles, coordinator for pastoral ministries at…
For rural churches, community may be a key to spiritual renewal
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — America’s rural churches were built upon and grew from a strong sense of community. Although many rural congregations are in decline now, that community reliance may be the key to spiritual renewal and to thriving ministry….