Some 130 Virginia Baptist volunteers spent the week of Feb. 7-11 on a disaster relief recovery trip to Punta Gorda, Fla. The group ministered in an area hit hard by Hurricane Charlie last August-and which they had visited just days…
Southern Seminary nixes pioneering curriculum for ‘biblical counseling’
By David Winfrey The Christian counseling department of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, which defined the role of pastoral counseling for generations of ministers and Christian counselors, will make a wholesale change by emphasizing “biblical counseling” over behavioral science. The move…
The closest to heaven
Another View for March 3, 2005 By Karen Anne Vassar In January I was given the opportunity to leave the country for the first time in my life. I traveled with students from the College of William and Mary and…
Virginia legislation reeks of Istook amendment
Guest Editorial for March 3, 2005 By Brent Walker The Virginia House of Delegates-my elected body of representatives-is up to no good. By a vote of 69-27 the House recently passed a state constitutional amendment with sweeping language and dire…
Scotched once again!
Heritage Column for March 3 By Fred Anderson The Virginia General Assembly this session was presented with a proposed constitutional amendment which would have allowed praying and preaching in the public schools. Introduced by a member of the House of…
Church & People News for March 3, 2005
S T A F F • C H A N G E S Prentis B. McGoldrick Jr., to Thalia Lynn Church, Virginia Beach, as senior pastor, effective March 27. Michael Copple, to Dundas Church, Dundas, as pastor. Gary Chiles,…
Letters for March 3, 2005
The BGAV and abortion In a letter in the Religious Herald dated Feb. 3, Greene Hollowell condemned the Baptist General Association of Virginia's stance on abortion, as published in Truthfully Speaking (available at http://www.vbmb.org/uploads/TruthfullySpeaking.pdf). Mr. Hollowell disputes this statement: “Be…
Supreme Court strikes down juvenile death penalty
WASHINGTON (ABP) — The Supreme Court ruled March 1 that the execution of convicts who were under the age of 18 at the time of their crimes constitutes the sort of “cruel and unusual” punishment barred by the Eighth Amendment….
Georgia churches look to Virginia for affiliation by ‘affinity’
By Robert Dilday First Baptist Church of Rome, Ga., is considering ending its affiliation with the Georgia Baptist Convention and joining the Baptist General Association of Virginia, whose Richmond headquarters are 600 miles away. And two other north Georgia churches…
Georgia churches look to Virginia for affiliation by ‘affinity’
RICHMOND, Va. (ABP) — First Baptist Church of Rome, Ga., is considering ending its affiliation with the Georgia Baptist Convention and joining the Baptist General Association of Virginia, whose Richmond headquarters are 600 miles away. And two other North Georgia…
Investment in Columbine movie comes up empty for NAMB
ALPHARETTA, Ga. (ABP) — Five years after paying for the right to make a movie about the Columbine massacre, the North American Mission Board has nothing to show for its investment. The movie about Christian student Cassie Bernall, one of…
Observance of Lent varies among Christian traditions
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (ABP) — Jay Wolf, pastor of First Baptist Church in Montgomery, Ala., recently had a conversation with his youngest daughter about the season leading up to Easter. “Some members of her class were considering giving up chewing gum…