JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (ABP) — When it comes to ministry in Jesus' name, relieving “oppression” takes many forms — including the oppression of today's gasoline prices. As gas prices hit record levels across the country, a growing number of churches are…
Freedom of the Spirit
Next week, on Friday, April 11, the University of Richmond inaugurates its ninth president, Edward Ayers, who is an historian by profession. Ever since its humble yet hopeful beginnings, the University of Richmond (as academy, seminary, college and, since 1920,…
Still hospitalized, prayer lifts student duo
JACKSON, Tenn. (BP) — David Wilson and Matt Kelley were among hundreds of Union University students who experienced the 10 seconds that it took for a tornado to devastate the campus. That night, Feb. 5, they found themselves trapped with…
SECOND OPINION: Can we at least talk about it?
I'm one of the few leaders in Baptist life with the freedom to talk openly and honestly about the complex theological, moral, pastoral, and public policy issues raised by homosexuality without destroying myself professionally. Because I hold a tenured professorship…
Judge dismisses lawsuit against Southwestern
FORT WORTH, Texas (ABP) — A federal judge has ruled that Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary's decision to fire a female Hebrew professor was akin to a church's decision to fire its pastor — and therefore outside the purview of the…
OUT LOUD
“Sen. Richard Lugar … is [a] member of our congregation, and I would hope that he would never be held accountable for everything I have said in the last 15 years. Why is there any assumption that a person in…
News about Virginia Baptists and their Ministries for April 3, 2008
STAFF CHANGES • Jerry Neaves, to First Church, Harmony Village, as pastor. • Robert Wayne Marker, to Jahnke Road Church, Richmond, as part-time outreach/associate pastor. • Bob Turner, to Ravensworth Church, Annandale, as associate pastor. • Lindsay Comstock, resigning as…
Fundamentalism & violence: Fundamentalists of all stripes want to turn back the clock
(ABP) — Despite all their theological and cultural differences, fundamentalists of every faith share at least one common characteristic: resistance to modernity. That's the assessment of scholars and firsthand observers who have evaluated the varieties of religious expression. “Fundamentalism worldwide…
Fundamentalism & militancy: Defining ‘fundamentalism’
(ABP) — Were the 9/11 terrorists who flew airplanes into the Twin Towers fundamentalists? Technically, no. Practically, yes. “Fundamentalism” specifically refers to a conservative movement within U.S. Protestant Christianity that began about a century ago, according to religious scholars. But…
Missouri Baptist Convention faces $10 million countersuit
CAMDENTON, Mo. (ABP) — The Missouri Baptist Convention could face paying more than $10 million to a developer over land formerly owned by Windermere Baptist Conference Center. William Jester of Springfield, Mo., has filed a counterclaim to legal action convention…
Home sweet home: Chaplain uses cookies to reach out
BAGHDAD (ABP) — For American military personnel serving in Iraq, there's nothing like a taste of home — literally. Soldiers are finding comfort in a coffeehouse that provides homemade cookies run by a Baptist General Convention of Texas-endorsed chaplain, Kari…
Supreme Court to hear case pitting 10 Commandments vs. ‘7 Aphorisms’
WASHINGTON (ABP) – It's the Ten Commandments versus the Seven Aphorisms, and it'll be coming to the Supreme Court sometime in its 2008-09 term. The justices agreed March 31 to hear a case involving a 47-year-old monument to the Decalogue…