LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Southern Baptists both commended President Barack Obama and expressed opposition to some of his policies in a resolution passed June 24 at their annual meeting in Louisville. A resolution commending Obama for his “evident love for his…
VIRGINIA BAPTIST FORUM: Policies don’t hold water
How ironic that the recognition of baptismal rites that use less water would be considered “a watering down” of baptism and a church’s membership policy [“Opening up without watering down,” Herald, June 18]. It is also interesting to me that…
WMU challenged to ‘change a life, change the world,’ through missions
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Participants at the 2009 Woman’s Missionary Union missions celebration June 21-22 conducted the mission organization’s business and heard challenges to “change a life” and “change the world.” Kaye Miller, a member of Immanuel Baptist Church of Little…
VIRGINIA BAPTIST FORUM: No place for cursing prayers
After careful and prayerful consideration, I must take umbrage and exception to the article by Bob Allen of the Associated Baptist Press on page 18 of the June 18 edition of the Religious Herald, titled, “Former Southern Baptist Convention officer…
NEWS ANALYSIS: Generation gap creates dilemma for Southern Baptist Convention
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (ABP) — The 2009 Southern Baptist Convention marked the 30th anniversary of the launch of a theological/political movement aimed at stopping the nation’s second-largest faith group from drifting into liberalism and inevitable decline. Three decades later, Southern Baptists…
No longer Episcopalians, Anglicans launch own church
PLANO, Texas (RNS) — Conservative Anglicans disenchanted with the liberal drift in their U.S. and Canadian churches say they are confident that a new church body launched last week will one day gain a seat in the worldwide Anglican Communion….
SBC votes to sever longstanding relationship with Texas church
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Southern Baptist Convention discontinued its relationship with Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas, because of the church’s perceived toleration of homosexual members. Messengers to the SBC annual meeting dismissed the church in less than 30…
Even at 500, Calvin isn’t slowing down
Like most 24-year-old men, Stephen Jones is keenly interested in sin. But while many of his peers enjoy their youthful indiscretions, Jones takes a more, shall we say, Puritanical stand. The weekend of June 12-15, Jones and 4,000 other young…
Task force approved, but multiple motions focus on controversial Seattle pastor
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A proposal that could reshape the Southern Baptist Convention received overwhelming approval during the 2009 SBC annual meeting. But relationships with a controversial pastor who is influential among many young SBC pastors drew the attention of multiple…
Major Baptist celebrations begin this week in Europe
WASHINGTON, D.C. (BWA) — The Baptist World Alliance and the European Baptist Federation have planned major activities July 24-Aug. 1 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the founding of the Baptist movement. The EBF, one of six regional fellowships…
HERITAGE: Return to Harmony Grove
She was born 90 summers ago about a country mile or two from Harmony Grove Baptist Church in Middlesex County; and for her home church’s 150th anniversary, Frances Stiff Appel of Richmond wanted to return to Harmony Village. She had…
Baptists support separation of church and state, but not all agree what it means
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Baptists have, since their earliest days, been advocates of religious liberty and its corollary, the separation of church and state. But different groups of modern-day Baptists in the United States interpret church-state separation — and the Constitution’s…