It was a “sunny, balmy and bracing” day in Lynchburg in late February 1883 when about 300 persons gathered for the first Congress of Virginia Baptists. For several days ministers and laypersons listened to lectures on various issues of the…
OUT LOUD
“It amazes me that Jesus could call a Matthew and a Simon both to be his disciples. Matthew was a tax collector, a conservative of the conservatives. Simon was a zealot, the liberal of the liberals. … They were farther…
Ethicists debate morality of enhancing genetics
WASHINGTON (RNS)—Scientists already know which genes are responsible for particular illnesses, and clinical trials are under way to find new treatments for genetically based diseases. But, ethicists ask, what if this newfound genetic knowledge is used not only to cure,…
Investors with moral agenda are bullish on faith-based mutual funds
WASHINGTON (RNS)—Religious activists with a moral agenda for corporate America used to rely primarily on consumer boycotts and sympathetic lawmakers to get Wall Street's attention. But now their toolbox is growing—and there's a lot more money in it. Over the…
Minorities flocking to multi-ethnic campus groups for fellowship
DALLAS (ABP)—Anglo students continue to primarily populate college evangelical organizations, but ethnic minority students have started to join them in increasing numbers. Two of the nation's largest parachurch campus evangelical organizations, Campus Crusade for Christ and InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA, stress…
Correction
For the Aug. 27 story titled “42 Baptist schools make magazine's ‘best colleges' rankings for 2008,” please replace the first sentence in the 10th graph with the following: The Master's-Midwest group includes Missouri Baptist and Southwest Baptist universities. Cedarville University…
FAITH DIGEST
Colorado megachurch approves Haggard's successor. New Life Church, the Colorado megachurch whose leader Ted Haggard was dismissed last year after a sex and drug scandal, has approved a new senior pastor. Brady Boyd, pastor at Gateway Church in Southlake, Texas,…
New survey suggests religion may not help ’08 candidates
WASHINGTON (ABP) — A new survey of voters' attitudes toward presidential candidates shows that being perceived as highly religious may not help the 2008 hopefuls very much. The study, released Sept. 6 by two bipartisan public-interest groups, also suggests that…
D. James Kennedy, elder statesman of Religious Right, dead at 76
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (ABP) — Presbyterian minister D. James Kennedy died Sept. 5, little more than a week after he retired from the pulpit that helped him launch both evangelistic and political ministries. Kennedy, who was 76, had served for…
Aging minister recalls price paid for civil-rights work in Georgia
CHILLICOTHE, Mo. (ABP) — When Norman Shands made a vow to God 65 years ago, he couldn't have imagined that it would thrust him into the center of the civil-rights movement in Atlanta. The vow — that he would treat…
Opportunities, challenges confront increasingly multiethnic congregation
DALLAS (ABP) — Soon after Bruce Troy arrived at Gaston Oaks Baptist Church in Dallas, he challenged a group in the congregation to answer one question: “What would you do if God put 100 people on your doorstep?” Three years…
Opinion: Living in sight of a coffin
On a recent trip to England, I visited the ancient Norman church, Saint Mary's, Iffley, where a 13th-century anchoress (a female hermit) by the name of Annora resided. She lived enclosed in a room attached to the cathedral, with a…