GILBERT, W.Va. (BP) — In the wake of flash floods that washed away rural roads and even mountainsides over six southern West Virginia counties on Mother’s Day weekend, Virginia Baptists joined other Baptist disaster relief feeding units and mud-out crews…
Before building, congregations should ‘get it right,’ says Baptist consultant
Because buildings are so costly and so permanent, churches better take time to get it right before they rush into construction, says Rod Hale, church facilities consultant for the Virginia Baptist Mission Board. Get organized. Churches contemplating building new space…
Virginia Baptist Foundation awards $101,000 to 53 scholarship recipients
RICHMOND — Ann F. Brown, chair of the scholarship committee of the Virginia Baptist Foundation, announced 53 scholarship recipients totaling $101,000 during the second annual Scholarship Recognition Service held May 31, at the Virginia Baptist Resource Center. Scholarship recipients gathered…
Fork Union inducts athletes into school’s Sports Hall of Fame
FORK UNION — Vinny Testaverde has traveled far and wide throughout his long NFL career, and has earned many honors and accolades, but this week he returned to Fork Union, where his dream of earning a scholarship to play college…
From the Eastern Shore to Cumberland Gap
STAFF CHANGES • Dale Seley, to First Church, Newport News, as senior pastor, effective in August. • Neil Seward, to Bethel Church, Phenix, as pastor. • Curtis Barnes, to Mount Pleasant Church, Colonial Heights, as senior pastor. • John Minter,…
Baptists’ grass-roots identity helped spread key ideas
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (ABP) — While Baptists may not be able to claim sole credit as the originators of ideas such as religious liberty and the modern missionary movement, the denomination’s identification with common folk helped them become “popularizers” of these…
EDITORIAL: Aunt Ida needs more study
Dear Jimmy, Well, it’s one of those nights when I can’t sleep so I figure I’ll write you a few lines maybe sort out some things that are all jumbled up in my mind. Your uncle and I have had…
Book says SBC lacks system of preventing sexual abuse
AUSTIN, Texas (ABP) — A book released in advance of the June 23-24 annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention claims the nation's largest Protestant faith group has more than 100,000 clergy, but no effective system of denominational oversight to…
Baptist women clearly left their mark in colonial America
“Some of the early Baptist church records did not even list the names of women members, and early histories of the Baptist faith in America gave little attention to the role and contributions of women,” she said. “Because of this…
OUT LOUD
“A faithful pastor cannot preach the gospel to unbelievers, let alone exhort and, dare I say, rebuke, backslidden and unregenerate church members, while satisfying a politically correct standard of niceness. This is the sort of niceness we could do with…
Southern progressivism left its mark on WMU
Southern-style Social Gospel may not be the first thing that springs to mind when most Baptists think of Woman’s Missionary Union, but Southern progressivism significantly influenced the organization in its formative years, church historian Carol Holcomb noted. Holcomb, associate professor…
SECOND OPINION: Opening up without watering down
Baptist churches of the Old South had a lovely image for describing entrance into church membership. They would announce that a door of the church was open. Anyone who came forward was asked to give a verbal confession of “their…