At age 8, Chris Carrier was abducted, stabbed multiple times with an ice pick, shot in the left temple at pointblank range and abandoned in the Florida Everglades. Miraculously, he survived the ordeal, although the bullet to his head severed…
Puglisi unexpectedly steps down as VI president; board of trustees announces personnel reductions
BRISTOL, Va. — In a move that appeared sudden to outsiders, on Jan. 25 trustees of Virginia Intermont College called for president Michael J. Puglisi to step down. And in what college administrators and trustees said was unrelated to the…
“Developing an Enduring Ministry” for pastors and church financial leaders
RICHMOND, Va. — The Office of Stewardship Development at the Virginia Baptist Mission Board is sponsoring “Developing an Enduring Ministry,” March 20 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Virginia Baptist Resource Center. The conference is designed around the…
From the Eastern Shore to Cumberland Gap
STAFF CHANGES • Paul Robert “Trey” Gilliam III, to Mulberry Grove Church, Buckingham, as pastor. • Bob Thurman, to Kearfott Memorial Church, Martinsville, as pastor. • Hoyle Bowman, to Fairystone Church, Stuart, as interim pastor. • Patrick Collins, to Story…
Southern Baptist leaders as Obama to intervene on behalf of jailed missionaries
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) — Leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention urged President Obama Feb. 5 to do everything within his power to secure release of 10 volunteer missionaries jailed in Haiti. Morris Chapman, president and CEO of the SBC Executive…
Southern Baptist leaders ask Obama to intervene on behalf of missionaries
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) — Leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention urged President Obama Feb. 5 to do everything within his power to secure release of 10 volunteer missionaries jailed in Haiti. Morris Chapman, president and CEO of the SBC Executive…
Church seeks forgiveness for mission team detained in Haiti
MERIDIAN, Idaho (ABP) — The sponsoring church of a 10-member Southern Baptist mission team charged with child kidnapping in Haiti has acknowledged that the group made "mistakes" and asked the Haitian government to forgive them. "We are absolutely convinced that…
Biker chaplains see the parking lot as their church
CARROLLTON, Texas (ABP) — In a crowded parking lot filled with chrome and horsepower, Jeff Claes finds himself most at home. Weaving through a maze of leather-clad, patch-decorated bikers, he talks with others about motorcycles, rides and miles of open…
After quake, Haiti missionaries ask: ‘Why not me?’
WASHINGTON (RNS) — Having survived a devastating earthquake during a 10-day mission trip to Haiti, Freedom Gassoway savors every minute she spends at home with her family in Beaverton, Ore. But for this 33-year-old mother of two, some of life…
Southern Baptist leaders ask Obama to intervene on behalf of missionaries
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) — Leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention urged President Obama Feb. 5 to do everything within his power to secure release of 10 volunteer missionaries jailed in Haiti. Morris Chapman, president and CEO of the SBC Executive…
Movie spotlights Darwin’s loss of faith, family crisis
WASHINGTON (RNS) — Heated debate. Loss of faith. Religious discord. Questions about death, the universe, and our place in it. According to a new film, Charles Darwin saw—and wrestled with—all of that and more as the implications of his theory…
Obama, Clinton at prayer breakfast denounce Ugandan anti-gay proposal
WASHINGTON (ABP) — President Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton used the occasion of the National Prayer Breakfast Feb. 4 to denounce a draconian proposed anti-homosexuality law in Uganda — even though the event’s organizers have been closely associated…