LONDON (RNS) — Former British prime minister Tony Blair says his religious faith, although rarely expressed in public, was “hugely important” to him but he feared he might be viewed as a “nutter” if he spoke out about it. Blair,…
Virginia Baptists assisting victims of devastating cyclone in Bangladesh
RICHMOND — Virginia Baptists are providing assistance to victims of the cyclone that devastated parts of Bangladesh in November. More than 3,500 people were killed in the Ganges River delta along the Bay of Bengal. Terry Raines, coordinator for mobile…
News about Virginia Baptists and their ministries for December 6, 2007
STAFF CHANGES • Steven R. Gupton, to First Church, Virginia Beach, as pastor. He had served as pastor of Ivor Church, Ivor. • Joel Jenkins, resigning as pastor of First Church, Charlottesville, to continue active duty service in military chaplaincy….
OFFERINGS: Bandela partners with Indian church starters in ministry
ATLANTA — For five years, Sam Bandela, one of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship's global missions field personnel, has been working patiently among hill tribes in the mountainous central region of India. Even as tsunami relief and personal challenges intervened, Bandela…
In Afton, an unexpected sight: First-century Bethlehem recreated
AFTON — The Village of Bethlehem in Afton, Va., is a small replica of the actual City of David, and it comes to life each December when members of a little country church transform into first-century characters. Visitors from all…
Stand and deliver
God chose “the foolishness of preaching” as the preferred instrument for communicating the message of salvation, the Apostle Paul wrote. But when the time arrives to stand and deliver that message, how does a preacher measure whether it's an exercise…
OFFERINGS: Harding brings clean water, love of Christ to Ethiopians
ATLANTA — In Ethiopia, the new rush of fresh, drinkable water brings a rush of joy. “When you strike water and the well starts to work, you should hear the joy,” said David Harding, one of CBF's global missions field…
EDITORIAL: Spiritual leadership is the demand of the day
Each Lord's Day pastors throughout the world stand before their congregations and deliver sermons they believe are messages from the Lord. Speaking from experience, the weight of such weekly work is both exhausting and exhilarating. The sheer effort required in…
OFFERINGS: Taking the gospel to Russia’s struggling Udmurt people
IZHEVSK, Russia (BP) — No father should have to bury a son. But the world can be a sad place — particularly the piece of it called Udmurtia (ood-MER-ti-yah) in the foothills of Russia's Ural Mountains. On a spring day…
Adventures of a church planter
Jeremiah Bell Jeter was in a dilemma. After several years of a highly successful pastorate at the prestigious First Baptist Church of Richmond, “the music demon” visited the church. In today's language, it was “the worship wars.” And it all…
OFFERINGS: Ukrainian believers take gospel to Kazakhstan
PAVLODAR, Kazakhstan (BP) — Roman Gopanchuk gestures with his left hand and leans forward to explain a Scripture passage to his home Bible study group in Pavlodar, Kazakhstan. Just outside the living room door, Gopanchuk's 8-year-old son, Timofey, plays with…
SECOND OPINION: Getting past reaction
One of the enduring tendencies in human life is reaction. Unhappy with the prevailing tendencies of a person or group we oppose, especially in situations of sharp conflict, we swing sharply in the other direction. Oftentimes when we do so…