By Bob Allen Missouri Baptist Convention officials are watching a member church whose pastor was arrested recently on sexual abuse charges a year after his previous acquittal of child molestation. Travis Smith, 42, of California, Mo., appeared for arraignment Oct….
Candidates mum on the environment
By Bob Allen Heading into tonight’s third and final presidential debate between President Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney, neither candidate is talking about the environment, a number of socially conscious Christians have observed. Baptist blogger Brian Kaylor, an assistant…
Baptists embrace pet blessings
By Jeff Brumley Even at Broadway Baptist Church, where classical and contemplative worship are the norm, some folks were stunned a few years back when the pastor held an animal blessing ritual in the courtyard. Turns out they were in…
OPINION: On priests, autonomy and the drawing of lines
The fundamentalist church I grew up in once led the charge in kicking a church out of the local association because that church ordained a woman deacon. I had moved away by then, but if I’d been around I would…
Richmond Baptist Association creates task force to study ordination of gay man by affiliated church
RICHMOND — A task force of the Richmond Baptist Association will study the recent ordination to the ministry of an openly gay man by one of its affiliated churches and recommend a response to the association by next spring. The…
Congregation takes adult exercise seriously as it adds new equipment to its community playground
MECHANICSVILLE, Va. — Northside Baptist Church believes that families that play together will be strong and healthy, says senior pastor Jeff Scott. So the latest additions to its church playground facilities are not for children, but for senior adults. Nancy…
HERITAGE: Finding a solution to funding ministry
“We are a small band of Baptists struggling to complete our little church and to build up our Baptist cause in this community. We are now painting our church and giving it the finishing requirements as far as we can….
OPINION: Good for the BGAV budget committee
I have briefly reviewed the revised Baptist General Association of Virginia 2013 proposed budget: good for the budget committee and good for BGAV leadership. Thank you for hearing the wails and cries of disappointment. And thanks for Woman’s Missionary Union…
LETTER: As Jesus said, love one another
I take my hat off to Ginter Park Baptist Church for openly ordaining the gay brother in Christ Jesus. Get over it, BGAV. Jesus loves his gay brothers and sisters. We all have sinful behavior. We don’t take time to…
Author offers tips on handling critics
By Bob Allen Both praised and scorned for her take on controversial topics such as Christians and evolution and gender roles for husbands and wives, author Rachel Held Evans has rapidly become an expert in dealing with criticism. “As an…
Longtime pastor John Dunaway dies
By Bob Allen John Dunaway, 79, a longtime Kentucky pastor who helped name the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, died Oct. 18 at his home in Huntsville, Ala., following a long illness. A constitution offered at the inaugural CBF gathering proposed the…
Genocide project unites campus
By Jeff Brumley Growing up Baptist in North Carolina, Keri Arrington had little exposure to the topic of genocide. Even her first three years at Mars Hill College did little to inform her of modern instances of the brutal practice….