Let’s start with a disclaimer. I know that congregations and restaurants are not in the same business. I understand that thinking like a restaurant can lead to embracing the consumer culture of the day. I know all too well that…
Latino Network to sponsor youths attending global Baptist conference
RICHMOND, Va.—The Latino Network of Virginia Baptists has announced plans to sponsor 10 Latino youth to attend the Baptist Youth World Conference next summer in Singapore. The conference, sponsored by the Baptist World Alliance, is expected to draw about 6,000…
OUT LOUD
“As Muslims, when we see President Morsi, we feel just as the black people of the United States feel about Barack Obama. Here is somebody who looks like me, who represents me.” Ali el-Banna The Egyptian lawyer spoke to the…
HeraldBeat: Tracking Baptists across the Mid-Atlantic
Transitions ON THE MOVE Steve Lalk, to Sandy Creek Baptist Church, Jetersville, Va., as pastor. Earl Jones, to Morningside Baptist Church, Asheville, N.C., as pastor. Joe Edwards, to Gourdvine Baptist Church, Rixleyville, Va., as pastor. Greg Robertson, to Calvary Baptist…
LEADERSHIP LINK: Churches adapt to make most of mid-week service
(ABP)—The look and feel of the Wednesday night church service is beginning to change as congregations seek to become more intentional and relevant to the communities they serve, ministers and scholars say. Those experts say they’re noticing the shift as…
CELEBRATE RETIREMENT: 10,000 Baby Boomers reaching age 65 every day
It happens to everyone. You can’t do anything about it and you want to think you’ll be calm when it happens, but most times it will catch you off guard. It’s your first “senior” mailing. It could be an invitation…
Ramadan fast poses challenge for Muslim Olympians
(RNS)—Winning an Olympic medal is hard. Surprisingly, winning one when you’re fasting for Ramadan is not that much harder. At least, not for Suleiman Nyambui of Tanzania, who took silver in the 5000 meters at the 1980 Summer Olympics while…
Anglicans celebrate Book of Common Prayer’s 350th
CANTERBURY, England (RNS/ENInews) “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.” “All the deceits of the world, the flesh and the devil.” “Read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest.” Shakespeare? The King James Bible? Close—the Anglican Book of Common Prayer, the liturgical and…
Mormons and Baptists compete for converts
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (RNS)—Jake Pulsipher’s first day as a working missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints began at 6:30 a.m. with prayer and exercise, followed by breakfast and study. Then he put on a black suit, white…
More churches turning to high-tech worship
(RNS) No matter where you live, you can go to church, so to speak, with Christ Fellowship in McKinney, Texas, which is on board with almost every high-tech gambit under heaven. Find the church by going online—the 21st-century version of…
Survey finds record 19 percent of religiously unaffiliated Americans
(RNS)—Unbelief is on the uptick. People who check “None” for their religious affiliation are now nearly one in five Americans (19 percent), the highest ever documented, according to the Pew Center for the People and the Press. The rapid rise…
Is a contemporary worship service the quick-fix to energize a church?
It’s a recurring scenario in America’s Christian congregations. As members grapple with their church’s future—eager to increase attendance or renew spiritual energy—one suggestion inevitably emerges. It’s time to start a contemporary worship service. The assumption that guitar- and drum-driven worship…