WASHINGTON (ABP) — After 33 years of trying, gay-rights groups got one of their biggest legislative victories in history Nov. 7. Some said the bill didn't go far enough, while gay-rights opponents claimed it would undermine heterosexual marriage and threaten…
Time out of joint
Last issue this column told about a man — Henry Keeling Ellyson, the long-time executive leader of Virginia Baptists in the 19th century — and his vision: the planting of new church starts wherever the railroads placed depots. No matter…
Lakewood Manor to make a difference during service week
Lakewood Manor in Richmond, a facility of Virginia Baptist Homes, helped make a difference in the Richmond community by hosting a food and clothes drive during Community Service Week on Oct. 29- Nov. 2. All proceeds will benefit the food…
SECOND OPINION: Learning from the young through reverse mentoring
Think for a moment: your MP3 player is on the fritz, or maybe you can't get your text message to send. Who do you ask for help? Your teenage daughter? The college intern at work? It may be quite humbling…
Virginia Baptist partnerships seeks teams for Jamaica
Virginia Baptists share an active and close partnership with our brothers and sisters in the Jamaica Baptist Union. Last August, the island nation of Jamaica was hit hard by Hurricane Dean. The Jamaica union has asked Virginia Baptists' help in…
Out Loud
“The KKK is our own terrorist organization. They have murdered, lynched and terrorized thousands of people in this country, or inspired the same. It is disingenuous of us to say that someone in Saudi Arabia ought to do something about…
BJC announces 3rd annual essay contest for students
To engage high school students in church-state issues and to generate interest from a wide range of Baptists, the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty has launched the 2008 Religious Liberty Essay Contest. Open to all Baptist high school students…
Memphis church gives new meaning to ‘I Surrender All’
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (RNS) — Nineteen-year-old Edacious recently came to New Salem Missionary Baptist Church, to surrender — and not just to Jesus. There was a warrant for her arrest on marijuana charges, and she had come to church to turn…
Missouri convention overwhelmingly rejects Moran-allied candidates
OSAGE BEACH, Mo. (ABP) — For the first time in eight years, messengers to the Missouri Baptist Convention annual meeting have rejected a slate of officer candidates allied with an organized fundamentalist faction. Meeting Oct. 29-31 at a resort on…
FAITHSHAPERS: Positive behaviors
Last month we discussed ways to extinct undesirable behaviors. Now we will turn our attention to the other side of the coin. Reducing our reinforcement of negative behaviors is a great start, but we also have to be purposeful about…
Tennessee Baptists gear up for struggle over trustees
KINGSPORT, Tenn. (ABP) — Tennessee Baptists are gearing up to fight a battle that most Southern Baptist state conventions finished a decade ago. Many of the state's moderates feel it is no longer worth fighting. Nonetheless, some conservatives and moderates…
Church welcomes the ‘Scum of the Earth’
DENVER — The people who worship with Pastor Mike Sares at this rented space are mostly young, many of them students, some clean cut, some a little raggedy. More than a few of the 300 congregants have grappled with depression,…