STAFF CHANGES • Tom Sepulveda, concluding his ministry as associate pastor/youth/children at Tomahawk Church, Midlothian. SERVING OTHERS: The Children in Action at Chatham Baptist Church in Chatham are involved in mission projects to serve others year-round. They filled baby bottles…
EDITORIAL: Aunt Ida takes aim at e-mail gossip
Dear Jimmy, Well, I guess you are about as surprised as I am that you are getting an e-mail from me. I never in this world figured me for a computer gal, but here I am big as life sendin’…
HERITAGE: Light in the forest
Virginia Baptists early established relationships with Indians. John Leland, arguably the most prominent of the 18th-century Virginia Baptist itinerant preachers, wrote that in the 1780s he preached in the “royal pavilion” of an Indian chief, John Tohan. Leland said: “After…
VITAL SIGNS: Assessing conflict in churches
So what do we make of the rising tide of conflict in local congregations? First of all, is there actually an increase in conflict? Anecdotally, the number of calls and conversations we are having around conflict seem to indicate that…
OUT LOUD
“For many people who do not understand Islam, Muslims do not appear in the Western media to act in a way that let them believe that Islam is a religion of peace. So there is a certain cognitive dissonance here….
CBF churches take part in Bible-listening program
ATLANTA (ABP) — More than 500 churches affiliated with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship participated in a yearlong Bible-listening project, raising more than $185,000 to support translation and distribution of the Bible around the world. The "You've Got the Time" program,…
N.C. Hispanic pastor facing possible deportation over old crime
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (ABP) — Leaders of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina solicited urgent prayer Aug. 27 for a Hispanic pastor facing possible deportation for a 15-year-old crime he committed before accepting Christ. According to media reports, Hector Villanueva,…
School Daze: Tradition of U.S. Baptist higher education a lengthy one
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) — Baptist higher education stands on the shoulders of a long tradition in Christianity linking knowledge to faith. The Apostle Paul, many of the early church fathers and important theologians like Augustine were respected for their knowledge,…
School Daze: Christian colleges not spared from recession’s impact
(ABP) — God makes rain fall on the just and the unjust, Jesus said. Similarly, recession makes market prices fall, affecting endowments of Christian and secular colleges and universities alike. United States and Canadian schools suffered an average 23 percent…
School Daze: Baptist higher education in state of flux
(ABP) — As students return to classes at historically Baptist colleges and universities this fall, the institution of Baptist higher education is in a state of flux. Challenges that include finances, changing demographics and fragmentation of Baptist denominations are prompting…
Baptist church sets Guinness record with shoe chain
From left, Carol Shattuck, Mark Chambers and Marv Overman were among 150 volunteers recruited for Saturday's "Sole Chain" celebration. HOUSTON (ABP) — A Baptist church in Texas braved near-100 degree heat Aug. 21 to set the new Guinness world record…
Religious groups push action on prison rape
WASHINGTON (RNS) — Six months before her scheduled release, Marilyn Shirley was raped in 2000 by a guard at the Texas prison where she was serving time for drug charges. “I am still haunted by the words he whispered in…