By Robert Dilday When Congress overwhelmingly approved a measure last month to relieve spiraling student debt, churches probably didn’t realize the problem hits closer to home than expected — many pastors are leaving seminary and divinity school with tens of…
Metro Baptist pastor trades NYC for NC pulpit
By Jeff Brumley Through e-mails and Facebook posts Thursday, Alan Sherouse informed extended friends and colleagues that he’s stepping down as pastor of Metro Baptist Church to lead a church in North Carolina. “I am in the midst of transition…
Metro Baptist pastor taking NC pulpit
By Jeff Brumley Through e-mails and Facebook posts, Alan Sherouse informed extended friends and colleagues that he’s stepping down as pastor of Metro Baptist Church to lead a church in North Carolina. “I am in the midst of transition from Metro…
OPINION: Binge watching
The TV show Breaking Bad entered its fifth and final season two weeks ago. Many speculate that “binge watching” is in large part responsible for the growing success of the show. Thanks to Netflix, a subscriber can watch an entire…
Churches confront an uncomfortable question: How much should we pay the pastor?
It may be one of the most uncomfortable —and sometimes contentious — questions in congregational life: How much should we pay our senior pastor? Ministers struggle between commitments to a self-sacrificial calling on the one hand and providing for their…
In a trend still below churches’ radar, many ministers saddled with seminary debt
When Congress overwhelmingly approved a measure last month to relieve spiraling student debt, churches probably didn’t realize the problem hits closer to home than expected — many pastors are leaving seminary and divinity school with tens of thousands of dollars…
EDITORIAL: What is wrong with us?
‘What is wrong with us?” It’s a question we’d better start asking. It reads like a work of twisted fiction rather than a factual account: “Bored” teens decide to kill somebody for the fun of it. Three boys, aged 15,…
As new film draws attention, Washington church recalls real butler as quiet man of steady faith
WASHINGTON (RNS) — Eugene Allen served eight presidents as a White House butler, and his legendary career is the inspiration for Lee Daniels’ The Butler, a film starring Oprah Winfrey, Jane Fonda and a host of A-list Hollywood talent. But…
Photo
Eugene Allen, the man who inspired the title role of The Butler, is pictured in a 2006 photo from the 126th anniversary program of his church’s usher board. He is the farthest left person in the third row from…
As new film draws attention, Washington church recalls real butler as quiet man of steady faith
As new film draws attention, Washington church recalls real butler as quiet man of steady faith Adelle M. Banks WASHINGTON (RNS) — Eugene Allen served eight presidents as a White House butler, and his legendary career is the inspiration for…
Matching-gifts campaign smoothing the way for BTSR’s move to new location
RICHMOND — Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond’s recently-launched Forward Together campaign is helping the school make the move from its historic Brook Road campus several miles north to Villa Park. A group of BTSR supporters created the $1 million matching…
New book by Wake Forest divinity school professor recounts church gardening as peacemaking ministry
BREVARD, N.C. (RNS) — Fred Bahnson’s first bit of advice when he started planning a church garden eight years ago came from an elderly tobacco farmer who grabbed a handful of soil, rolled it around in his fingers and shook…