DALLAS (BP) — Following an Oct. 27 dialogue with 22 executive directors of Southern Baptist state conventions, Great Commission Resurgence Task Force chairman Ronnie Floyd addressed several issues on which he felt the record needed to be “set straight.” 1)…
State convention executives offer vision, views about resurgence and the SBC to task force
DALLAS (BP) — In what might be arguably the most significant meeting yet for the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force, 22 executive directors of Southern Baptist state conventions met with them Oct. 27, to offer some competing, some complementing views…
Bluefield College academic exchange with China to benefit students, community
As part of its mission to prepare innovative learners, Bluefield College will offer its students an opportunity to learn firsthand the Chinese culture, history and language, thanks to a new international exchange program with the Jiangsu Institute of Education in…
D.C. set to become 6th jurisdiction in U.S. with legal same-sex marriage
WASHINGTON (ABP) — The District of Columbia Council voted overwhelmingly — and despite vocal protests from a coalition of conservative evangelicals and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington — to legalize same-sex marriage in the nation’s capital Dec. 15. Anthony…
National race track chaplaincy group to relocate to Kentucky
GEORGETOWN, Ky. (ABP) — A national chaplaincy group that ministers to the horse-racing community is moving from California to Kentucky at the beginning of 2010. Race Track Chaplaincy of America Executive Director Enrique Torres (center right) shakes hands with Georgetown…
CBF leader says ministry-exellence training can boost clergy’s image
ATLANTA (ABP) — A moderate Baptist leader says a recent poll showing public confidence in clergy at a three-decade low should be a wakeup call for the importance of maintaining excellence in ministry. "In a culture that qualifies success as…
Coming in January: Ask the Architect
Beginning with our first issue in January, Richmond architect Jim DePasquale, AIA, will write a column called “Ask the Architect.” Jim DePasquale Virginia Baptist churches vary in many details of their styles and practices, but they almost universally have buildings….
‘Pedal!’ New VBMB chair urges Virginia Baptists to move forward
Tim Madison, who was elected president of the Baptist General Association of Virginia last month, was elected chair of the Virginia Baptist Mission Board Dec. 1. This is his address to the board that day. The familiar words we have…
For some, creches are big business
ARLINGTON, Va. (RNS) — For James Govan, Christmas starts before Thanksgiving and doesn’t end until early in February as he displays some of his 500 nativity scenes around his home in Arlington, Va. “I keep telling people it’s a disease…
Baptists celebrate 50 years in Vietnam
HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam (BP) — Shortly before the fall of Saigon in 1975, Le Quoc Chanh, pastor of Grace Baptist Church in Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City), came with his wife and young son to the home…
OUT LOUD
“Singling out minarets in this ban is tantamount to isolating Islam and relegating it to second-class status.” Al Mohler The president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., was blogging about the recent vote in Switzerland to ban construction…
HERITAGE: In the swamps of Southampton
Lights — flickering candles inside Mason jars — shone in the darkness in the backcountry of Southampton County. The luminaries let visitors know they had arrived at Hebron Baptist Church and helped guide footsteps to the front doors of the…