RICHMOND — Israel Galindo, dean and professor of Christian formation and leadership at Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond, has been named associate dean for lifelong learning at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Ga., effective Aug. 1. Israel Galindo Galindo, who…
Two Baptist associations — one urban, one rural — merge to form 96-church ministry network
NORFOLK — Two Baptist associations — one in Virginia’s highly-urbanized Hampton Roads, the other on the state’s rural Eastern Shore — have merged to form a new network of 96 churches. At separate meetings in mid-April, representatives of the Norfolk…
Baptist leaders combat mental illness, suicide
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (RNS) — Frank Page, former president of the Southern Baptist Convention, was getting ready to work in the yard in the fall of 2009 when the phone rang. His daughter was on the line. Daddy, I love you,…
Baptist leaders, with personal experiences, tackle the stigma of mental illness and suicide
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (RNS) — Frank Page, former president of the Southern Baptist Convention, was getting ready to work in the yard in the fall of 2009 when the phone rang. His daughter was on the line. Daddy, I love you,…
County boards in Md., NC. challenged over official sectarian prayers, joining others in region
Two more county governing boards in the Mid-Atlantic are under fire for giving preference to Christian prayers in opening official meetings. The two counties — one in Maryland, the other in North Carolina — join a growing number of others…
Whirlwind tour takes new CBF executive coordinator to five cities in North Carolina
On the heels of her April 20-25 tour of Cooperative Baptist Fellowship churches in Virginia, CBF executive coordinator Suzii Paynter traveled to North Carolina for another five-city tour that included stops in Asheville, Winston-Salem, Greenville, Raleigh and Charlotte between April…
County boards in Md., NC. challenged over official sectarian prayers, joining others in region
Two more county governing boards in the Mid-Atlantic are under fire for giving preference to Christian prayers in opening official meetings. The two counties — one in Maryland, the other in North Carolina — join a growing number of others…
Ministry gets artsy with fundraising
By Daniel Wallace The Christian mandate to fight poverty is as old as Scripture, but doing it requires constant creativity. “We recognize that we can’t rely on any one source of funds or any one way of doing things to…
Woman named to lead British Baptists
By Bob Allen Forty-eight-year-old Lynn Green was elected May 4 as general secretary of the Baptist Union of Great Britain. The first woman to hold the post, she replaces Jonathan Edwards, who steps down in July after seven years. Green…
Full text of open letter from Ginter Park pastor Mandy England Cole to Richmond Baptist Association
On May 5, pastor Mandy England Cole of Ginter Park Baptist Church sent the following open letter to the “staff, executive council and churches of the Richmond Baptist Association.” This week staff and leaders of the Richmond Baptist Association paid…
Ginter Park pastor sends open letter as a quarter of Richmond association churches consider leaving
RICHMOND — Seven weeks after the Richmond Baptist Association narrowly voted to retain the membership of a church which ordained a gay man to the ministry, about a quarter of the association’s congregations have ended ties with it or are…
Disaster ministry: calling or compulsion?
By Jeff Brumley Leaders of faith-based disaster-recovery agencies say there’s nothing like calamity to invigorate a Christian’s faith. Pastors of churches where disasters strike have noticed a difference in people, too. “Whether it’s man-made or something from nature, I think…