One of the most precarious tasks a preacher faces is that of being a prophet. The role of prophet is one that many ministers feel a deep ambivalence toward. All preachers know that relevant preaching must address the great issues…
OUT LOUD
“The story of evangelical theology is not so much getting someone saved and getting them to heaven, but it is Christ redeeming not only the individual person but all creation as well. You’re seeing a transformation of, or a maturity…
EDITORIAL: Pewboy asks the right questions about baptism
Long ago on a Sunday afternoon in early August, I gathered with other baptismal candidates, our families and our church family on the bank of Sandy Creek near Antonia, Mo. After singing a hymn, and shooing the cows we waded…
BTSR’s School of Christian Ministry schedules online courses to start in May
RICHMOND, Va. — Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond School of Christian Ministry announces four online courses beginning May 24 for which continuing education units are available for both clergy and lay leaders. For more information contact the School of Christian…
Haitian projects developing as Va. Baptists and overseas partners meet
RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia Baptist mission leaders are developing projects in earthquake-devastated Haiti which they hope will lead to long-term relationships on the island and to self-sustaining operations. That was the assessment of Dean Miller, Virginia missions coordinator for the…
For shy worshippers, church can be overwhelming
LOS ANGELES (RNS) — If Jesus were to take a Myers-Briggs personality test, would he rank as an introvert or an extrovert? He was, after all, popular with crowds, but often retreated to pray in solitude. As an undergrad, Daniel…
Obama meets with Billy Graham
MONTREAT, N.C. (ABP) — President Obama met Billy Graham for the first time face-to-face April 25, making him the 12th consecutive president of the United States to meet with the famed Southern Baptist evangelist. Obama stopped by Graham's mountaintop home…
Baptist Peace Fellowship marks 15th anniversary of statement on sexuality
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (ABP) — The Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America applauded a recent order by President Obama permitting gays to visit their domestic partners in the hospital with a statement commemorating the 15th anniversary of a controversial move that…
Virginia Baptist Women in Ministry are told their voices can change the world
RICHMOND, Va. — There's a scene from the Oscar-winning film Precious — the story of a black teenager sexually abused by her father but trying to change her life by going to school — where she tells her class that…
Obama meets with Billy Graham
MONTREAT, N.C. (ABP) — President Obama met Billy Graham for the first time face-to-face April 25, making him the 12th consecutive U.S. president to meet with the famed Southern Baptist evangelist. Obama stopped by Graham's mountaintop home in Montreat, N.C.,…
Missouri Baptist Convention releases newspaper from lawsuit
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (ABP) — Attorneys for the Missouri Baptist Convention have voluntarily released the organization's former official news journal from a long-running lawsuit against several agencies that removed themselves from convention control. Word & Way, the historic Missouri Baptist…
Cecil Sherman ‘stood on a higher hill’
ASHEVILLE, N.C. (ABP) — A self-described "comrade in arms" in the Southern Baptist Convention controversy in the 1980s remembered Cecil Sherman as one who "stood on a higher hill" than other moderate Baptist leaders. "Cecil Sherman was right more times…