RICHMOND, Va. — The annual two-day training for Virginia Baptist youth ministers, summer youth workers, youth ministry interns and volunteer youth leaders drew a record 105 participants and faculty to the Virginia Baptist Resource Center in Richmond in May. “Our…
ASK THE ARCHITECT: Town hall meeting builds consensus in congregation
What is this town hall meeting all about? Last month I promised a discussion on the purpose and format for a successful town hall meeting that should be sandwiched between those building committee workshops. Speaking of sandwiches, that is precisely…
Bluefield students serve on mission in South America
BLUEFIELD, Va. — Bluefield College students recently completed a spring mission trip to Peru as part of Virginia Baptists’ greater effort to share the gospel and to build churches in South America. Bluefield students in a town square with Peruvian…
OPINION: July 4 & religious freedom
In our nation’s history much has been said about the separation of church and state. Many interpret Jesus’ comment about a coin with Caesar’s head on it as saying: Here is what you owe to the state and here’s what…
Baptist students at William & Mary use creative means to reach out
WILLIAMSBURG, Va. — During last spring’s semester, students in the Baptist collegiate ministries at the College of William & Mary decided to creatively take the spiritual pulse of the campus. They led several campus ministries in an outreach emphasis known…
OPINION: Is the National Day of Prayer a threat to religious liberty?
The title is not a trick question. I ask that you read the following before giving your final answer. Baptists have always been a people of prayer, be it a part of their devotional life or their corporate worship. It…
VITAL SIGNS: Ready for a vocabulary lesson?
Stagnant. Boring. Aimless. Tired. Tepid. What do these words describe? You? Your minister? Your church? Your Sunday school class? Your career? All too often, I hear ministers and parishioners alike using such words to describe all of the above. Far…
OUT LOUD
“Testimony envy may be part of any community, but we evangelicals seem to have a particular bent toward narrative one-upmanship.” Editorial in Christianity Today The magazine was writing after Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary President Ergun Caner lost his post when…
Liberty and Justice: Church-state lines can blur when disasters strike
RICHMOND, Va. (ABP) — Responding to disasters with immediate and long-term assistance has become a well-established practice of American religious groups — including Baptists, who frequently are almost as visible following devastating earthquakes and hurricanes as the Federal Emergency Management…
Liberty and Justice: What is the future of U.S. religious liberty?
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Since colonial days, each new generation of Americans has had to face new challenges to religious freedom. From dissenters like Roger Williams fighting established state churches to perceived threats to the Protestant establishment posed by Catholic immigration…
Liberty and Justice: Churches, ministries and employment law
WASHINGTON (ABP) — One characteristic of the robust religious freedom Americans enjoy is that the government doesn’t control the church nor the church the government. But that doesn’t mean churches are lawless zones. While houses of worship and other nonprofit…
Liberty and Justice: When church-state separation and social justice conflict
DALLAS (ABP) — Religious liberty is a Baptist birthright, and one of the tradition’s most distinctive principles. But challenges to maintaining religious liberty come from all directions — including the dilemma of whether Baptist social-service agencies should accept government funds…