WASHINGTON (ABP)—It may face an uphill battle in Congress, but some Christian leaders are saying the Senate's latest immigration-reform proposal is better than doing nothing on the issue. The legislation passed an initial test when the Senate voted May 21…
Deployed
CHARLOTTESVILLE–Joel Jenkins, pastor of First Baptist Church of Charlottesville, temporarily changed congregations last year—and the relocation was extreme. Jenkins, a longtime Army Reserve chaplain, was called to active duty in Iraq last June with barely a week's notice. For the…
Right or Wrong?
In light of the recent events at Virginia Tech, how can my church respond to this tragedy—and others like it? And what can my congregation do to prevent alienation, hostility and anger around us? Many of us have been asking…
Chaplain strives to be the presence of Christ in war zone
ALANBAR, Iraq (ABP)–Chaplain Alan Rogers has baptized a Marine in an Iraqi river under armed protection. Needless to say, it was a quick job. A Marine Corps corporal asked Rogers to baptize in the Euphrates River in Iraq, near the…
When it comes to counting church members, the devil’s in the details
WASHINGTON (RNS)—The Southern Baptist Convention, with about 16.2 million members on the books, claims to be the nation's largest Protestant denomination. But Tom Ascol believes the active membership really is a fraction of that. Ascol, pastor of Grace Baptist Church…
Chaplain ministers at world’s busiest U.S. military trauma center
U. S. AIR FORCE THEATER HOSPITAL, Iraq (ABP)–At the U.S. Air Force Theater Hospital in Iraq, the sounds of Army Blackhawk and Marine Sea Knight helicopters are a call to duty for Air Force Chaplain Shane Gaster. Gaster, one of…
FAITH DIGEST
MANY PROFESSORS TAKE DIM VIEW OF EVANGELICALS. About half of nonevangelical university faculty acknowledge they don't have warm feelings about evangelical Christians, a new survey shows. A survey released by the San Francisco-based Institute for Jewish & Community Research found…
Opinion: The duty to subordinate that which divides us?
A few nights ago, just at bedtime, my husband and I heard some kind of owl — at least we assumed it was an owl — announcing its presence among the oaks in our backyard. A little research on the…
N.C. Baptist newspaper set to elect PR director Jameson as editor
RALEIGH, N.C. (ABP) — Norman Jameson has been recommended as the new editor of the Biblical Recorder, the North Carolina Baptist state newspaper. Jameson, the executive leader for public relations for the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina, met with…
Festival of homiletics links spoken word and suffering world
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) — “Then God showed up, and all hell broke loose.” That's how William Willimon described Pentecost, but he added that it was a far cry from the lukewarm homilies found in pulpits today. A Methodist bishop and…
Pennington-Russell set to make history as pastor of large Decatur church
DECATUR, Ga. (ABP) — A female pastor who broke the “stained-glass ceiling” in Texas Baptist life is expected to move to a historic church near Atlanta, making it by far the largest Southern Baptist church led by a woman. A…
Herb Reynolds, Baylor president emeritus, dead at 77
WACO, Texas (ABP) — Herb Reynolds, the president who led Baylor University into the Big 12 Conference and founded George W. Truett Theological Seminary, died May 25 in Angel Fire, N.M. He was 77. Reynolds, the 11th president of Texas'…