ROANOKE — Roanoke pastor Kevin Meadows will be nominated for second vice president of the Baptist General Association of Virginia during its annual meeting next month. Traci Powers, pastor of Westhaven Baptist Church in Portsmouth, Va., said Sept. 28 she…
Youth recuperating from church van crash
By Bob Allen One girl remained hospitalized two weeks after a church van crash killed two, injured 10 others and left a Tennessee Cooperative Baptist Fellowship congregation reeling. “Things are going pretty well,” Bob Lynch, pastor of Cedar Grove Baptist…
EBF leaders endorse seminary move
By Bob Allen Leaders of the European Baptist Federation voted overwhelmingly Sept. 28 to move the International Baptist Theological Seminary from Prague to Amsterdam as an international Baptist studies and research center with close ties to the Union of Baptist…
New coalition to help evangelical leaders engage ‘post-Christian’ challenges, say organizers
RICHMOND — A diverse coalition of pastors and theological educators has launched an initiative they hope will offer a platform for evangelical leaders to “work for a Kingdom-driven, gospel-centered, biblically-grounded theology and ecclesial practice for God’s mission in North America.”…
LEADERSHIP LINK: Larry Leader changes hats
Larry Leader’s typical Sunday at church is full and fast. This morning, Larry arrives at All Alike Baptist Church at 9:30 as usual and goes directly to the Pressured Parents’ Sunday school classroom, where he’s the teacher. Leading by example…
Orthodox Jews mark end of 7-year Talmud study, 2,711 pages later
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (RNS) — Some have called their efforts a spiritual calling, a labor of love, a rich opportunity to connect with thousands of years of Jewish history and religion. Others have viewed them as a relentless endeavor and…
Study suggests megachurch services produce spiritual and biological ‘high’
(RNS) — Maybe religion really is the opiate of the masses — just not the way Karl Marx imagined. A University of Washington study posits that worship services at megachurches can trigger feelings of transcendence and changes in brain chemistry…
LEADERSHIP LINK: Many communication channels—good problems?
Have you noticed that the more your church grows, the harder your leadership task becomes? In fact, your leader challenges are much bigger than sheer numbers. Here’s the ministry background. Communication channels—the connective tissue for groups—keep leaders connected to others….
Tebow’s gridiron faith: A Q&A with sports observer Michael Butterworth
(RNS) Can Tim Tebow do no wrong? Michael Butterworth of Bowling Green State University has turned his attention to sports media coverage of Tebow, an evangelical Christian and New York Jets quarterback. The author of a forthcoming article in the…
Report shows more than 5,000 multisite churches, and growing at faster pace than traditional ones
(RNS) — The number of congregations that host worship services at more than one physical location has grown to more than 5,000 in the last decade, according to a new report. Researchers say these "multisite" churches, which may share worshippers…
FaithVillage.com — Real community in online reality
LANO, Texas—The future of electronic communication for evangelical Christians appears crystal clear to Brad Russell. “Picture a vibrant community of Christians, including leaders, artists, thought-shapers and culture-makers,” Russell describes. “They’re online together—expanding their faith, deepening their relationships and fulfilling their…
GuideStone hopes to expand coverage to church members
GuideStone Financial Resources president O.S. Hawkins told members of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee that changing the entity’s ministry assignment to make its investment and insurance products available to church members would benefit Southern Baptists, the denomination’s news service…