By Bob Allen A mother who says her son was molested more than 20 years ago by a then-staff member at one of the Southern Baptist Convention’s largest churches says the congregation’s leaders need to come clean about what a…
UK church movement takes root in US
By Robert Dilday Fresh Expressions, a movement which aims to help churches engage postmodern culture through new creative communities of faith, has taken the next step in its development with the launch this month of its first learning communities in…
Baugh Foundation pledges $1.5 million over four years to Religious Herald
RICHMOND — The Eula Mae and John Baugh Foundation has pledged $1.5 million to be distributed over four years to the Religious Herald, the news organization’s executive editor announced Jan. 28. “The generosity of the Baugh Foundation decision-makers enables the…
Broader view of evangelism could inspire more Christians to share their faith
By some estimates, more than 85 percent of Christian congregations in the United States include the word “evangelism” in their mission statements. But some Christian leaders claim surface commitment to what they call the church’s essential task isn’t reflected in…
Do pre-Christians need to feel they belong before they can believe and become?
It’s emblazoned on the sign outside Gayton Baptist Church in Richmond. Belong. Believe. Become. Those three verbs — in various word orders — crop up frequently in discussions on evangelism and a congregation’s role in it. For some, it’s a…
Baptists host Episcopalians, wine
By Jeff Brumley Baptists, communion and wine are words rarely used together. But they will be the next four Sundays as First Baptist Church in Dayton, Ohio, hosts an Episcopal parish for worship while the latter’s building undergoes renovations. The…
Vivian Nielsen, former DC Baptist leader, dies
By Bob Allen Vivian Nielsen, 86, a past president of the District of Columbia Baptist Convention and leader in Washington’s Calvary Baptist Church, died Jan. 4 at Greenspring Village retirement community in Springfield, Va., after a battle with cancer. In…
Former DC Baptist woman leader dies
By Bob Allen Vivian Nielsen, 86, a past president of the District of Columbia Baptist Convention and leader in Washington’s Calvary Baptist Church, died Jan. 4 at Greenspring Village retirement community in Springfield, Va., after a battle with cancer. In…
British Baptists debate gay marriage
By Bob Allen The recent call by a prominent evangelical to re-examine the church’s traditional rejection of homosexuality prompted debate in the Baptist Union of Great Britain. The Baptist Times, the union’s online news journal, reported Jan. 25 that its…
No prison for molester termed unfair
By Bob Allen A former Southern Baptist music minister who will serve no time in prison after admitting to molesting children nearly 30 years ago demonstrates that America’s justice system isn’t always fair, a newspaper in Jackson, Miss., editorialized Jan….
TRENDING: Lessons from Argentina, part 2: Cities
If you want to know what is coming to the United States, look south. As a Tar Heel, I’ve always known this. But now, I’m suggesting we look even further south than Chapel Hill — all the way to the…
OPINION: Louie Giglio and a call for dynamic faith
The eyes of the world gazed upon Washington this week for the second inauguration of President Barack H. Obama on a monumental Monday morning also remembering the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. In his inaugural address,…