It is not a stretch to realize that churches are probably the longest standing user of volunteer services. From teaching Sunday school classes and staffing committees to operating the various mission efforts, churches are almost completely dependent upon unpaid volunteers….
HERITAGE: Time travel
Jim Slatton had a catchy title in mind for his biography of William Heth Whitsitt. He wanted to call it An Inconvenient Truth, but Al Gore coined it first for his book. It would have been apropos. After all, in…
EDITORIAL: Aunt Ida develops a bonus plan
Dear Jimmy, Last night after I went to bed I was a-lyin’ there thinkin’ about all the things I’ve been puttin’ off, and right at the top of the list was writin’ you. So, here goes. I don’t have much…
VIRGINIA BRIEFS
Herald launches new web site. The Religious Herald will unveil in early April an engaging new web site that features video reporting and weblogs by both the editor and associate editor. The target date is Friday, April 3. The site…
State Dept. reveals predecessors’ designations of freedom violators
WASHINGTON (ABP) — More than two months after George W. Bush left the White House and Condoleezza Rice left the State Department, the agency has revealed its list of the world’s worst religious-freedom violators. The big news is that nothing…
Arizona high court declares state’s voucher program unconstitutional
PHOENIX (ABP) — The Arizona Supreme Court March 25 delivered the latest in a string of blows to the movement to provide tax funding for tuition at private and religious schools. A unanimous five-member court said a plain reading of…
Alabama Baptists headed to court over property dispute
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (ABP) — Alabama Baptists are going to court to resolve a dispute with Montgomery, Ala., homeowners whom Baptist leaders claim are unreasonably hindering development of land the state convention is trying to sell The Alabama Baptist newspaper reported…
Southern Baptist activist organizes confab on church and environment
ATLANTA (ABP) — An upcoming national conference on churches and the environment features several well-known evangelical speakers, including some prominent Southern Baptist leaders who will be speaking for first time on the increasingly high-profile theological issue known as "creation care."…
Southern Baptist ethics head lobbies for coal, against cap and trade
Southern Baptist leader Richard Land says cap-and-trade legislation would most hurt working people in states that rely heavily on coal for their energy. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) — Coal-fired power plants have received the blessing of the Southern Baptist Convention's top…
Southern Baptist activist organizes confab on church and environment
ATLANTA (ABP) — An upcoming national conference on churches and the environment features several well-known evangelical speakers, including some prominent Southern Baptist leaders who will be speaking for first time on the increasingly high-profile theological issue known as "creation care."…
Mercer conference focuses on ending modern slavery
Participants listen to anti-human-trafficking activists during a recent Mercer University conference. (PHOTO/Mercer) MACON, Ga. (ABP) — In the face of the world’s fastest-growing crime — the enslavement of an estimated million people every year — Lauran Bethell had some profoundly…
‘Knowing’ explores age-old theological conundrum
(ABP) — Do our lives have a purpose, or are we products of random chance? If everything is predestined, is there anything we can do to improve our fate? If not, are we without hope? These questions are discussed daily…