Accepted a new call? Been ordained? Church celebrating an anniversary? Mission trip or project that you would like highlighted on the HeraldBeat page? Send info to HeraldBeat editor Barbara Francis at [email protected]. Transitions ON THE MOVE Dan Crumley, to Oak…
Religious moderates face challenge
By Jeff Brumley New research predicting the rise of religious progressives and a conservative decline presents a challenge to those in the middle, including moderate Baptists, according to some leading Baptist and other Christian activists and thinkers. The Public Religion Research Institute survey…
Ala. minister’s wife slain in home
By Bob Allen An Alabama Baptist minister’s wife was found dead in her home July 23 in a case that police regard an apparent homicide. Karen Louise Shahan, 52, was discovered at about 11:15 a.m. on the couch of her…
CBF pastor seeks immigration reform
By Bob Allen A Cooperative Baptist Fellowship pastor joined fellow clergy July 24 in a press conference on the U.S. Capitol Building lawn calling for broad immigration reform. “We are not here to endorse any specific bill or any particular…
Baptists take sides in ordinance debate
By Bob Allen Baptist clergy are lining up on both sides of a debate about a proposed fairness ordinance dividing city commissioners in Frankfort, Ky. Hershael York, a professor at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and pastor of Buck Run Baptist…
Shots fired in Missouri church
By Bob Allen A Missouri man faces multiple charges after allegedly shooting a gun in a Southern Baptist church during Sunday morning worship. About 40 people at First Baptist Church in Norwood, Mo., were in attendance July 21 when an…
A Buena Vista, Va., middle school has new life, thanks to church’s partnership with community
BUENA VISTA, Va. — Parry McCluer Middle School is located in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley — one block from Buena Vista Baptist Church. Like many aging school buildings in small towns, it is full of memories for generations of students who…
Texas Baptists support abortion law
By Bob Allen The Baptist General Convention of Texas lobbied for a newly passed law restricting abortion that was delayed by a filibuster by a state senator honored last year by the Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission for her work…
Texas Baptists support abortion law
By Bob Allen The Baptist General Convention of Texas lobbied for a newly passed law restricting abortion that was delayed by a filibuster by a state senator honored last year by the Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission for her work…
Study finds health benefit to Jewish prayer
By Jeff Brumley Rabbi Yossi Posner knows from experience that Jews who fervently pray and regularly attend synagogue tend to enjoy a greater quality of life than those who don’t. “When people are praying and more in tune with their inner…
VITAL SIGNS: The shredding machine
It was a very impressive group of church leaders. Clergy and laity alike, they were successful and savvy men and women who had been patiently listening to me make repeated invitations to engage in a spiritual discernment process rather than…
HERITAGE: Down in Jamaica
The first day of the Baptist World Alliance’s gathering in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, offered a bus tour of nearby Baptist historical sites. About 15 intrepid travelers seized the opportunity and from 9 until 6 were escorted by two remarkable local…



