Several weeks ago I had the privilege of taking a guided tour of the Upper Zion area of Fort A.P. Hill with my mother, Evlyn Upshaw, and her sister, Annie Purks. These two sisters wept as they shared memories of…
SECOND OPINION: The utilitarian temptation
A few weeks ago, I was reminded in a news article that Judge Paul Pressler had actually said, at the beginning of the Southern Baptist controversy, that his side must “go for the jugular.” This is an image of slaying…
News about Virginia Baptists and their ministries for April 17, 2008
STAFF CHANGES • Ben Thomas, to Bethany Church, Woodford, as full-time pastor. • Eric Kieselbach, to Kearfott Memorial Church, Martinsville, as pastor. • James N. Kim, to New Life International Church, as pastor. This is a new mission congregation meeting…
Standing fast in liberty
In the days when they called themselves “colored,” the African-American Baptists of Southside Virginia decided that they needed to organize a new district association. Hasadiah Baptist Association was so large that it covered 200 miles across 21 counties and included…
EDITORIAL: In crisis mode
I'm not crazy about the smell of burning wires. Especially at 30,000 feet. Recently on a flight segment from St. Louis to Cincinnati the distinctive odor of burning wires assaulted my olfactory senses. Wanting to believe it was my imagination…
OUT LOUD
“I want to say it again, and again, and again: Islam is not a religion. It is a political system … bent on world domination, not a religion.” Pat Robertson The religious broadcaster was speaking on his “700 Club” program….
Opinion: Democrats and the abortion issue
At a policy level, I was generally pleased with the answers of the candidates to the policy questions they were asked. They expressed commitment to domestic-poverty reduction, creation care, the abolition of torture, and efforts to combat AIDS. The fact…
FAITHSHAPERS: The searching phase
As our children enter adolescence, they are beginning a phase of searching that will last through much of their young adulthood. There are a number of developmental, physical and psychological reasons for this phase, but for our purposes the key…
Supreme Court decision means executions move forward
WASHINGTON (ABP) — The Supreme Court effectively enabled states to move forward with executions April 16, declaring constitutional a kind of lethal injection used in almost all of the nation’s 30-plus death chambers. In its Baze v. Rees (No. 07-5439)…
Delayed life choices demand new strategies, scholar insists
PRINCETON, N.J. (RNS) — As increasing numbers of young people postpone marriage and children, other life choices — like returning to church — are affected as well, according to a leading scholar of American Protestantism. As a result, Princeton Univer-sity's…
Texas Baptist board report recommends budget cuts
DALLAS (ABP) — According to a Baptist General Convention of Texas report, the group's anticipated 2008 income falls $5.3 million short of budget, requiring cutbacks in spending and staffing for the second time in as many years. The report calls…
Missouri convention to appeal ruling in suit against agency
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (ABP) — The Missouri Baptist Convention has filed notice that it will appeal a judge’s ruling in its case against a formerly affiliated institution. In a related ruling, Cole County Circuit Court Judge Richard Callahan on April…