Dear Jimmy, Why bless me, you’ll never believe what your ol’ uncle has gone and done now. We were sittin’ in front of the TV watchin’ the Braves game when one of those computers came on the commercial. Well, I…
HERITAGE: The roar of lions
By any measure, they are old lions. Henry Langford turned 90 earlier this year. Jim Fox and Elmer West are both 86 and counting. But they can still roar. As young lions they challenged the prevailing social order, risking their…
Faith groups begin media blitz for health care reform
WASHINGTON (ABP) — President Obama will participate in a national call-in and audio webcast on health reform with religious leaders Aug. 19. Faith leaders made the announcement Aug. 10 in a conference call with reporters. It is one of several…
After receiving, Baltimore churches give to Dover
Though it may have looked like a typical Vacation Bible School to an outsider, what was going on at Dover Baptist Church in Manakin Sabot last week was one-of-a-kind. Pastor Mike Garner will make sure you know that. Three other…
‘Big Bucket Brigade’ ministers to Africans
RICHMOND — When you think of a “bucket brigade,” you likely picture buckets filled with water and a line of people. On July 12 there was a “Big Bucket Brigade” at Hatcher Memorial Baptist Church in Richmond, but the 23…
Bluefield College cottages renovated
BLUEFIELD — More than 100 members of Baptist churches from across Virginia and Tennessee spent part of their summer on the campus of Bluefield College. The Baptist missionaries with skills from carpentry to cooking worked five weeks in May and…
Bluefield College alumnus leads renovation effort
BLUEFIELD — Bluefield College prides itself on preparing innovative learners and transformational leaders to impact the world. The best measure of that vision and mission is the outcome of the school’s alumni. Alumnus Leroy Williams certainly fits the bill. This…
Faith that sings: Hymns make theology portable
“If you know what hymns a congregation is most addicted to, you will be able to infer what, in Christianity, means most to that church.” When the late hymnist Erik Routley wrote that in 1982, worship wars in the United…
Baptists on mission in the 49th state
MECHANICSVILLE — Bodenburg Butte Baptist Church is located in Palmer, Alaska, a town approximately 45 miles from Anchorage and 4,700 miles from Virginia. Last month a 14-member mission team led by Don Carter, a member of Hillcrest Baptist Church in…
Bluefield College cottages renovated
BLUEFIELD — More than 100 members of Baptist churches from across Virginia and Tennessee spent part of their summer on the campus of Bluefield College. The Baptist missionaries with skills from carpentry to cooking worked five weeks in May and…
From the Eastern Shore to Cumberland Gap
STAFF CHANGES • Glenn Giles, to Enon Church, Roanoke, as pastor. • Joy Heaton, to Westhampton Church, Richmond, as senior pastor, effective Sept. 1. • Todd Cullop, resigning as co-pastor at Convergence at Fair Park, Alexandria. • John Carey, resigning…
The secret’s in the songs: Musical choice reveals congregation’s theological position
WACO, Texas — Terry York is willing to bet that if he goes into a Baptist church, sits down and listens, he can tell — long before the preacher speaks — whether the congregation is theologically conservative or moderate. The…