(RNS) — A Virginia pastor who prayed that God would re-elect President Bush says the Internal Revenue Service threatened him with charges of improper “electioneering,” but the IRS maintains it has made no decision in the case. The controversy erupted…
OPINION: A Christian film critic’s conundrum
I was once reprimanded by a reader for suggesting Casablanca as a video alternative because the Humphrey Bogart character owned a bar. I remember my consternation over the fact that this man had dismissed this classic romantic adventure that salutes…
Members of Congress accepting religious trips
(RNS) — Over the past four-and-a-half years, private organizations spent nearly $570,000 flying members of Congress and their families around the globe on religion-related trips, putting them up in hotels and feeding them, a study of congressional records shows. An…
LETTERS: Not the way of Christ
The guest editorial “Kill or be killed” by David Gushee left me wondering — what was the point that Dr. Gushee was trying to make? Was he saying that we have crossed some line where it is now legitimate to do…
Church and people news
STAFF CHANGES Jim Day, to Broad Run Church, New Baltimore, as pastor. John Compton, resigning as senior pastor of First Church, Alexandria, to accept a similar position in Mississippi. Lance Yost, to Jahnke Road Church, Richmond, as bi-vocational pastor. DEATHS…
Nadia Bolz-Weber speaks at Baptist church
By Bob Allen Trends like the waning influence of denominations and rise of the religious “nones” don’t mean that churches should abandon their denominational identity, author and Lutheran church planter Nadia Bolz-Weber said Tuesday evening at Calvary Baptist Church in…
BWA leader advocates Christian unity
By Jeff Brumley A Baptist and Eastern Orthodox leader spoke on the aspirations and challenges inherent in Christian unity Tuesday during the 10th assembly of the World Council of Churches being held in Busan, South Korea. Neville Callam, general secretary of…
Baptists regard nukes as moral issue
By Bob Allen Baptists worldwide will discuss nuclear power as a human rights issue when the Baptist World Alliance observes World Human Rights Day the weekend of Dec. 7-8. This year’s observance, timed to coincide with the anniversary of the…
Lean on other Christians — It’s biblical
The Bible offers the key ingredient Christians — laypeople, ministers and church leaders alike — need to help them learn to lean upon one another. Each believer is a necessary and vital part of the body of Christ. Robert Creech,…
Why is it so hard for Christians to learn to lean on others?
The old hymn, Learning to Lean, encourages Christians to learn to lean on Jesus when they face life’s difficulties. Believers today emphasize being God’s hands and feet to minister to the world. But how many believers allow brothers and sisters…
Five suggestions for pastoral self-care
Charles Chandler, founder of the Ministering to Ministers Foundation, gives five suggestions of pastoral self-care. • Develop an informal feedback group within the congregation. Pastors should choose just a few that they can trust and whom other members talk to….
Ministers are not able to leap tall buildings or stop bullets
Charles Chandler can joke about preachers suffering from “Superman syndrome” since he portrayed the “Man of Steel” when Metropolis, Ill., claimed the status as the superhero’s hometown. The first “Superman” for the city’s annual celebration, Chandler, now director of the…