Heritage column for Dec. 16, 2004 By Fred Anderson It happens at least a hundred times a year in Virginia and thousands of times across the country. A new pastor is called to serve a Baptist church, and each time,…
Lilly Foundation gives BTSR $2 million grant
Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond has received a $2 million grant from the Lilly Endowment to work with churches to promote “ministerial excellence.” BTSR will use the funds to build a job-placement system, to assist churches considering female pastors, to…
Letters for Dec. 16, 2004
Happy to be a liberal? I was truly disturbed by your publication of the guest editorial on Nov. 25. “Why I'm proud to be a liberal” seems an attempt to justify the support of liberal values for Christians. I cannot…
Spiritual formation leaders look at network
Sandi Rogers, pastor of faith formation at Columbia Baptist Church in Falls Church, was among 12 spiritual formation leaders who met Nov. 18-19 in Atlanta to discern the future of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship's new Spiritual Formation Network. The SFN…
The hopeful season
Another View for Dec. 16, 2004 By Tom Ehrich Now comes the season of hope and disappointment. Stores and malls are heavy laden. For merchants, Christmas is an annual roll of the dice. Some will guess right, some wrong. Some…
Historical journal looks at Baptists in West
“Go west, young Baptist” could be the topic of the forthcoming Virginia Baptist Register,” says Lee Shepard, editor of the annual journal of the Virginia Baptist Historical Society. Shepard said the latest issue features three Virginia Baptists who experienced the…
Faculty vote at Baylor calls for president’s firing
A majority of Baylor University faculty who voted in a nonbinding referendum on the leadership of President Robert Sloan say he should be dismissed. Of the 490 votes cast, 85 percent were against retaining Sloan as president. Sloan has been…
Canadian Supreme Court OKs gay-marriage legislation
WASHINGTON (ABP) — The Supreme Court of Canada has given legislators the green light to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide. In an advisory opinion, known in Canada as a “reference,” the court's justices ruled Dec. 9 that the Canadian Constitution and…
Controversial Bush nominee retires rather than face fight anew
WASHINGTON (ABP) — One of President Bush's most controversial appeals-court nominees announced Dec. 9 he will retire rather than face another battle over his confirmation. Judge Charles Pickering announced in Mississippi that he will retire from the federal bench rather…