RICHMOND (RNS) — The Southern Baptist Convention's International Mission Board has requested that participants in its short-term mission trips pass background checks before leaving for the field. The new child protection policy, which is not mandatory and would not apply…
Francis Shaeffer’s son says his father wouldn’t recognize the movement he birthed
WASHINGTON (RNS) — As a Christian phil-osopher, author and political activist, Francis Schaeffer urged conservative Christians to battle abortion and engage the secular culture. But he would have recoiled from the “snide” comments and jeering at this summer's Republican National…
News about Virginia Baptists and their ministries for October 30, 2008
STAFF CHANGES MISSIONS MOMENT An 8-member team from Walnut Hills Church, Williamsburg, traveled to Odessa, Ukraine, Sept. 23-Oct. 3 to meet with Pastor Igor Bandura and the congregation of Grace Baptist Church. The trip focused on ways the two churches…
Virginia Mission Board gets first look at reduced BGAV budget for 2009
LYNCHBURG — The Virginia Baptist Mission Board has gotten its first look at a proposed budget that will reduce funding for Virginia Baptist ministries by more than half a million dollars in 2009. Meeting at Eagle Eyrie Baptist Conference Center…
BGAV REPORTS: Program Committee
The Program Committee is responsible for preparing the order of business for the annual meeting of the Baptist General Association of Virginia and assuring that worship is emphasized during the meeting. In response to the changing demographics of our communities,…
Baptist criminal-justice activist applauds Ga. stay of execution
ARLINGTON, Texas (ABP) — An American Baptist minister who advocates criminal-justice reform hailed as a “miracle” the latest stay of execution for a black man convicted of murdering a white Georgia police officer nearly 20 years ago. Alan Bean of…
Faculty, students, alumni want voice in Baylor presidential search
WACO, Texas (ABP) — Baylor University’s faculty, alumni and students want a vote in choosing the school’s next president, according to statements approved by representative bodies of each group. The statements reflect continuing controversy over leadership at the Texas school,…
Religious ‘test’ for public
office? Yes and no
WASHINGTON (ABP) — American Christians may pledge loyalty to the United States Constitution. But behind the closed curtain of the polling booth, many violate the spirit of the constitutional prohibition on any religious test for public office. And several church-state…
Constitution aside, why should churches avoid partisanship?
WASHINGTON (ABP)—The forbidden idea of churches and other tax-exempt organizations endorsing political parties or candidates has started to sound like a good one, in recent decades, to many conservative evangelicals in the United States. In fact, a group of pastors…
‘Values’ distinguish both
candidates and voters
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (ABP) — “Values voters” — a term popularized by conservative evangelicals after the 2004 elections — may bring a wide array of values to the polls. Here’s a rundown of the two presidential candidates’ views on a number…
Texas pastor warns against conservative ‘takeover’ of BGCT
FORT WORTH, Texas (ABP) — A Baptist pastor says moderates should be on guard against renewed attempts by fundamentalists to gain control of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. Paul Kenley, pastor of Grace Fellowship Church in Lampasas, Texas, penned…
Global Christians signing on to meet Micah Challenge
NEW YORK (ABP) — A reported 119 million Christians around the globe stood up for action to end poverty Oct. 19. Observed the Sunday closest to the United Nations’ International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, Micah Sunday aims to…