Southern Baptists were viewed favorably by 57 percent of adults interviewed as part of recent research conducted by the Southern Baptist Convention's North American Mission Board's Center for Missional Research through Zogby International. The positive outlook toward Southern Baptists, United…
Sunshine and seeds
Growing up on a farm in Southside Virginia, Cora Anne Davis learned that two things—sunshine and seeds—go together; and until her death on Nov. 9 at age 69, she spread plenty of both everywhere she went. The sunshine came from…
Labels mask diverse opinions on faith issues, study says
The stereotypical images of “liberals” and “evangelicals” create a distorted picture of what issues are important to each group, according to new research. A recent survey by researchers at Baylor University reveals much more diverse opinions than politicians have assumed….
News about Virginia Baptists and their ministries for November 23, 2006
Staff Changes William Attaway is now serving as pastor of Southview Church, Herndon. Allan D. McConnell Jr., to Lael Church, Lignum, as pastor. Jason Sanders, to Groveton Church, Alexandria, as interim minister of music. George Davis,retiring as church administrator at…
Author probes Thanksgiving’s ‘deep religious impulses’
With its celebration of bounty and goodwill, not to mention its endearing lack of commercialization, Thanksgiving may be the most beloved of American holidays. But is the Thanksgiving Americans celebrate today mere myth-making, resting on ahistorical stereotypes? Take the fabled…
BGCT messengers support Wade despite handling of Valley scandal
Rank-and-file Texas Baptists are sad and angry about the financial scandal in the Rio Grande Valley that has marred their reputation, but most say they still trust their leaders—including executive director Charles Wade—to correct abuses and restore confidence in the…
Former secretary of state says faith integral to foreign policy
WASHINGTON (ABP) — America's first female secretary of state said Nov. 20 the United States must begin educating its current and future diplomats on faith issues in order to have success in the foreign-policy arena. Echoing the thesis of her…
ABC General Board confirms decisions to sell headquarters, elect missions head
VALLEY FORGE, Pa. (ABP) — Leaders of the American Baptist Churches USA have approved selling the “Holy Doughnut” — the organization's Pennsylvania headquarters building — and confirmed the appointment of a new head for the denomination's international missions organization. The…
Opinion: Elections signal centrist turn
In the aftermath of the epochal power shift in Washington, the pundits are already attempting to interpret the deeper meaning of what happened. Inevitably, one's reading of the election tea leaves is filtered through one's own ideological perspective. Thus conservatives,…
Opinion: ‘The truth shall make you odd’
As we await the recommendations of the Iraq Study Group about what “to do” in Iraq, I can't help but be struck by the poverty of our imaginations. Just what, if anything, can we do to shore up the new…
SBC leader says Christians can be good lobbyists despite ‘seductions’
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Christians can be lobbyists and still maintain a clean conscience, as long as they generally believe in what they're peddling, said Southern Baptist professor Mark Coppenger. Coppenger, professor of apologetics at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville,…
Group cancels Thanksgiving boycott of Wal-Mart over gay support
BENTONVILLE, Ark. (ABP) — A group that had threatened a Thanksgiving-weekend boycott over gay-rights issues at the world's largest retailer has called it off. The American Family Association's website reported Nov. 22 that the group had canceled a boycott of…