WASHINGTON (ABP) — President Obama has selected a 26-year-old Pentecostal minister who served as his top religion adviser during the presidential campaign to head a revamped White House office on faith-based social services. Critics of President Bush’s attempt to expand…
Opinion: God as athletic director
(ABP) We have all seen it. A football player makes a big play, scores the winning touchdown, drops to one knee and points a finger towards the heavens. What does it mean when in a moment of success a player…
Recession forces cutbacks at Southern Baptist agencies
DALLAS (ABP) — Several Southern Baptist Convention entities are tightening the belt in response to budget shortfalls in a flagging economy. GuideStone Financial Resources said Jan. 27 it just implemented a hiring freeze and is giving no raises to employees, with…
Baptists, Muslims say dialogue a big step in the right direction
NEWTON CENTER, Mass. (ABP)—Several dozen Baptists and Muslims gathered recently to repair a relationship better known for harsh anti-Islamic rhetoric by high-profile Baptist preachers than by dialogue or cooperation. Stan Hastey, a Baptist member of the task force that planned…
New statute raises concerns
In addition to the fact that I find incorrect “facts” in Professor Stephen Strehle's article [“The need for a new religious freedom statute,” Herald, Dec. 18], I am very surprised that the Herald published it. The Baptist paper of Virginia,…
Doing well, doing good
A growing number of Christian businesspeople—who see entrepreneurial ventures as missional opportunities—believe doing good and doing well don't have to be mutually exclusive. These Christian social entrepreneurs are committed to using their business skills to organize, create, manage and monetize…
FAITH DIGEST
Judges uphold weddings by clergy ordained online. Pennsylvania county judges have ruled in three cases that marriages performed by ministers who do not have congregations and obtained ordination on the Internet are legal, rejecting a contrary 2007 ruling. All three…
VIRGINIA BAPTIST FORUM: Print edition rises to challenge
I enjoyed the Religious Herald edition dated Jan. 15 immensely. It was informative. The information was brought together in a way that would be difficult to quickly access on the internet. The photographs served to illustrate the text well. All…
At this church, there’s always room at the inn
PORTLAND, Ore. (RNS)—Eric Bahme no longer apologizes for being a preacher who keeps his eye on the bottom line. He is both a pastor and a businessman, he says, because that's how God made him. “Within every single person, God…
Experience in Jamaica helps students see God’s love at work
Just after ringing in 2009, a group of 37 students and leaders from the Baptist collegiate ministry at James Madison University and the College of William and Mary left freezing cold Virginia for the beautiful shores of Jamaica to spend…
News about Virginia Baptists and their ministries for January 29, 2009
MISSIONS MOMENTA mission team from Fairview Baptist Church in Fredericksburg participated in the Noah Project in New Orleans in late October. The team worked on several homes–painting, putting down flooring, restoring a bathroom, hanging doors, installing kitchen cabinets and other…
Hobby Lobby executive describes company’s legacy of faith
SHAWNEE, Okla. (BP)—Steve Green's father, David, started his retail career in high school through the DECA business education program. Never the model student, but with an affinity for math, David Green embraced the opportunity provided by the work program, starting…