Presbyterians move toward allowing gay ministers. The nation's largest Presbyterian denomination has cracked open the door to ordaining noncelibate gay clergy. Delegates at the Presbyterian Church (USA) general assembly voted 54 percent to 46 percent to remove a clause in…
Impact Virginia! offers variety of programs
• Impact Virginia! This one-week program provides service in four areas across the state: Staunton, Bluefield, Culpepper and Bowling Green. Projects focus on home repair and renovation. • Impact NOW! This project responds to natural disasters across the country. The…
Dan Vestal corrects claim that Fellowship is ‘unchristian’
Why would some Baptist writers seem to go out of their way to create the impression that the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship is not only not Baptist but not even Christian? This is what CBF executive coordinator, Daniel Vestal, is wondering…
Liberian student plans study at Oak Hill
Talk about culture shock. When Jimishua Beauty Dahn leaves Baptist-affiliated Ricks Institute in Liberia to attend Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, she will stepping into a different world. Dahn was selected by the faculty and staff of Ricks…
Radical change: Are Southern Baptists ready for it?
Johnny Hunt's election as president of the Southern Baptist Convention came as no real surprise. Going in, most people assumed that he had a better chance than most of the other five candidates to emerge as the eventual winner. What…
Baptist student missionary killed in Peru bus accident
ST. LOUIS (ABP) — Southern Baptist student missionary Gregory Gomez IV died July 5 in a bus crash in Peru. The 22-year-old Gomez was serving as a short-term field worker with the Southern Baptist Convention’s International Mission Board. According to…
Helms, ultra-conservative icon, steeped in moderate Baptist life
RALEIGH, N.C. (ABP) — Jesse Helms, the Baptist former senator who battled communist oppression but backed right-wing dictators and opposed abortion while appealing to racist sentiment, was a polarizing figure who was lionized by some conservatives and vilified by many…
To support military families through divorce, a few tips
(ABP) — Col. Bob Page, command chaplain for the Air Force’s Air Combat Command, believes that, while the military branches have developed more programs and services for military families, support from churches and other non-governmental groups remains crucial. That support…
‘Dear Jane’ letters a problem for military spouses at home
(ABP) — Divorce — the word seemed to leap out of the e-mail from her soldier husband that Nancy (not her real name) had so eagerly opened. Discussions of divorce among military personnel generally conjure the idea of a…
Third World Faith: Church tells story of Jesus to Sudanese
DALLAS (ABP) — People remember the stories, because with each retelling, moments come alive once again. In largely illiterate cultures, such as many in southern Sudan, storytelling preserves hundreds of years of history for people groups dependent on oral records….
Third-World Faith: Hub of world Christianity shifts to ‘Global South’
(ABP) — Sounds of laughter, tambourines and native instruments reverberate through a tiny apartment as a small group of Christians gathers for fervent worship. Despite oppression under Islam and the Soviet system, these Central Asian Christians dance and sing with…
Jesus in MySpace: Churches use social-networking sites
(ABP) — Social-networking sites like Facebook and MySpace are redefining the way many Americans build and maintain relationships — and also how their churches communicate. In the last few years, relating to social contacts through such sites has become practically…