ROACH, Mo. (ABP) — Discovering women and children living near or in a trash dump on the edge of Guatemala City to scavenge for food to eat or items to sell for food, Carol Bercian, who served for many years…
CBF leaders urging churches to keep ‘promises’
MARYVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) – While churches are giving more than ever to global missions through the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, many are doing it in new ways, prompting shortfalls in an annual offering needed to sustain fully funded missionaries already on…
Virginia CBF explores being Baptist in the 21st century
MECHANICSVILLE, Va. (ABP) — Baptists must acknowledge their reputation is suffering in many quarters of American life, but society has regarded Baptists with suspicion since the movement was born in the 17th century. Darryl Aaron (left) and Bill Leonard respond…
OPINION: The elephant in the room
Often when folks get together they will talk about everything and anything and avoid the real issue that needs to be addressed. This is the “elephant in the room” dilemma. Let’s not say what we should say because then we…
ASK THE ARCHITECT: Appropriate master planning enhances worship
Do worshipers enter your sanctuary from a busy street, still wrapped in the frenzy of the traffic outside? Do they negotiate a sea of asphalt and enter directly from an unsightly parking lot? Or do they approach the building under…
OPINION: Watch your assumptions about job loss
I received an email prayer request from a friend whose daughter lost her job. Tough times loom for her, but much of his request was that God would use this trauma to illuminate her need to trust Jesus Christ for…
VITAL SIGNS: A new ministerial role
For centuries the church has taken Ephesians 4 to heart and suggested that there are five primary roles for a minister to fulfill. Modern ministers are expected to embody these roles as needed and with a significant level of expertise…
OUT LOUD
“The recent burning of the Qur’an by a church that is not representative of the larger American Christian community is an act that we deplore and causes us to reaffirm our historic Baptist commitment to religious liberty for all people…
HERITAGE: A missionary’s story
Margaret Allen used to pray about becoming a missionary in Africa. Her prayers were answered but her mission field was in Richmond, Va., among people living in the inner city. In 1986 she began service as a community missionary of…