WACO, Texas (ABP) — Baylor University regents approved a charter change to downsize the school's governing board from 36 to 16 members over nine years and agreed to a 7.8 percent tuition hike for 2006-07. Chairman Will Davis of Austin…
Confirmation of Alito would shift court firmly to right, experts say
WASHINGTON (ABP) — President Bush's nomination of federal appeals judge Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court could shift the court firmly to the right — immediately and for decades to come — on issues such as abortion rights and the…
Waco pastor Kyle Lake killed in freak baptism accident
WACO, Texas (ABP) — Kyle Lake, 33-year-old pastor of the innovative University Baptist Church in Waco, Texas, was electrocuted and died Oct. 30 after he grabbed a microphone while in a baptistry full of water. According to eyewitness reports, Lake…
Co-Missioners changes approved by boards
The Virginia Baptist Mission Board and Woman's Missionary Union of Virginia have modified their approach to Co-Missioners, the two organizations' joint missions initiative and education emphasis. Co-Missioners seeks to cast a unified missions vision for Virginia Baptist churches though hands-on…
FIRST PERSON: Filipino pastor’s vision leads him to Virginia
By Dan Carlton and Bob Munson Look at a globe sometime. You will see that it is a long way from the Philippines to Virginia. But distance can be deceiving. When fellow Christians work together for God's kingdom, the other…
Bluefield, VBMB identify church leaders
The emerging leaders team of the Virginia Baptist Mission Board recently spent a day on the campus of Bluefield College, discussing with BC leaders how to identify and train future leaders for churches affiliated with the Baptist General Association of…
Media association honors longtime librarian
The Virginia Baptist Media Library Association honored a longtime church librarian and heard from a national consultant during its fall conference, held Oct 7-8 at Calvary Baptist Church in Portsmouth. Jamie Hughes of Portsmouth was honored for 40 years of…
Pittsylvania names Hudgins as coordinator
Clifton E. Hudgins has been named associational ministries coordinator for the Pittsylvania Baptist Association. Hudgins has been a Virginia Baptist Mission Board staff member since 1997, serving most recently as field strategist for the Ridge and Valley region. He will…
Foundation names Hurst donor relations director
Former pastor Rick R. Hurst has been named director of donor relations of the Virginia Baptist Foundation Inc. Hurst was pastor of the former Weatherford Memorial Baptist Church in Richmond. Hurst has been pastor of churches in Georgia, Kentucky and…
Virginia Baptist disaster relief coordinator Terry Raines is working with other
Terry Raines, who heads disaster relief for the Virginia Baptist Mission Board left for Hungary and Pakistan on Oct. 16. After spending a couple of days in Budapest with Hungarian Baptists planning their work, Terry left for Pakistan. Following are…
Birth control, not liberalism, explains mainline decline, say researchers
The decline of mainline church membership over the last century had more to do with reproduction than theology, according to research by a trio of sociologists. The popular notion that conservative churches are growing because mainline churches are too liberal…
CBF Coordinating Council votes to add ‘Jesus’ to group’s constitution
National leaders of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship voted Oct. 14 to restore explicit references to Jesus deleted from the group's constitution in July. A preamble to the constitution was approved by the CBF Coordinating Council with little discussion and no…