Living with depression — or any other form of mental illness — is like viewing life “through a glass darkly,” according to Jessy Grondin, a student in Vanderbilt University’s Divinity School. “It distorts how you see things.” Like one in…
Well-known Kung Fu master finds Christ while leading martial arts seminar at Bluefield College
BLUEFIELD — Bluefield College’s aim to be a Christ-centered institution took a new twist last summer when a Taiwanese Kung Fu master made a profession of faith following the martial arts seminar he had come to lead at the Virginia…
Kung Fu master find Christ at Bluefield
BLUEFIELD — Bluefield College’s aim to be a Christ-centered institution took a new twist last summer when a Taiwanese Kung Fu master made a profession of faith following the martial arts seminar he had come to lead at the Virginia…
Evangelical groups protest new religion law in Kyrgyz Republic
(ABP) — Evangelical leaders in the Kyrgyz Republic are protesting a new religion law they say significantly restricts religious freedom in the officially secular country. A new law, titled "On the Freedom of Worship and Religious Organizations," took effect Jan….
Church arson investigation brings new charges against former pastor
BELTON, S.C. (ABP) — A Southern Baptist pastor accused of setting fire to his own church March 8 now faces additional charges of breach of trust and filing a false police statement. On March 13, sheriff's deputies in South Carolina…
Virginia Baptist churches begin 40 days of fasting and repentance with ashes
RICHMOND — Many Virginia Baptist congregations inaugurated their Lenten observance Feb. 25 with Ash Wednesday services — a tradition rooted in ancient Christianity and one increasingly common among Baptist churches across the Commonwealth. The service, which dates to at least…
Southern Baptists, Catholics show membership decline, yearbook notes
NEW YORK (ABP) — The nation’s two largest Christian denominations are experiencing slight but statistically significant membership declines, according to the latest edition of the National Council of Churches’ Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches. The 77th annual compilation of…
VIRGINIA BRIEFS
ODU campus minister to retire. Rob Sandford, Baptist campus minister at Old Dominion University in Norfolk for 39 years, will retire June 5. Sandford, who also has overseen campus ministry at all schools in the Norfolk area, took the…
Parachurch groups not feeling pinch
WINCHESTER, Va. (ABP) — Faith-based charities haven’t been hit as hard by the economic downturn as expected, a new survey by the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability indicates. The ECFA, established in 1979 to accredit Christian non-profit organizations that model…
Virginia Baptist pastor discovers ways to deal with depression
RICHMOND — Kirby Smith has his life back. After years of struggling with clinical depression — what he calls “a hell on earth” — the Virginia Baptist pastor has discovered in both medical and psychological treatment a way to deal…
Church finances begin to feel impact of economic crisis
DALLAS (ABP) — Churches that aren’t cutting their budgets due to the economic downturn are, by and large, taking measures to curb expenses, according to a survey the National Association of Church Business Administration has done of its members. The…
Ministers often need help caring for their own mental health
While congregations often view their pastors as strong, stable shepherds, many members of the clergy experience a large disconnect between the image they project and the mental and emotional battles to which they are subject. “I have never met a…