CHICAGO (RNS)—Every year, some 100,000 pilgrims trek to the Taize ecumenical community in France where the biggest attraction is the music, a throwback—way, way back, about 1,500 years or so—to repetitive plainchant. Last month, for the first time, the Taize…
A new generation of snake-handling Christians is revitalizing a century-old faith tradition
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (RNS)—Andrew Hamblin’s Facebook page is filled with snippets of his life. Making a late-night run to Taco Bell. Watching SpongeBob on the couch with his kids. Handling rattlesnakes in church. Hamblin, 21, pastor of Tabernacle Church of God…
Interreligious dialogue is nothing new, but ministers and others are changing the way they do it
Interfaith dialogue is on the rise, not just in formal conversations led by judicatory leaders but in local communities where friendships forge as ministers of various faiths work together for common goals amid increasing religious diversity in the Bible belt….
BGAV annual available as a download
RICHMOND, Va.—The 2011 Baptist General Association of Virginia Annual—a compilation of statistics and data—is available this year as a download rather than a CD, the BGAV’s communcations office has announced. The download can be accessed at www.vbmb.org/annual. “We continue to…
TRENDING: The stuck and broken?
Recently, I was part of a conversation with 10 pastors discussing discipleship. All agreed that their churches were producing exactly what they were engineered to produce: attenders. There’s nothing wrong with attending church. You just can’t say attending church automatically…
Potential first African-American president says SBC shouldn’t be defined by race
NEW ORLEANS (RNS)—The Southern Baptist Convention began in 1845 in support of slaveholders and is now poised to elect its first African-American president, Fred Luter Jr., in June. “It’s a new day in the [SBC],” Luter told the PBS program…
Retro music
CHICAGO (RNS)—Every year, some 100,000 pilgrims trek to the Taize ecumenical community in France where the biggest attraction is the music, a throwback—way, way back, about 1,500 years or so—to repetitive plainchant. Last month, for the first time, the Taize…
Power of faith
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (RNS)—Andrew Hamblin’s Facebook page is filled with snippets of his life. Making a late-night run to Taco Bell. Watching SpongeBob on the couch with his kids. Handling rattlesnakes in church. Hamblin, 21, pastor of Tabernacle Church of God…
Interfaith talks on the rise in the Bible Belt
Interfaith dialogue is on the rise, not just in formal conversations led by judicatory leaders but in local communities where friendships forge as ministers of various faiths work together for common goals amid increasing religious diversity in the Bible Belt….
Baptists launch 10-day building blitz
By Bob Allen What can 120 volunteers do in about 10 days? For one thing they can build a house for a low-income family in rural Kentucky. This weekend volunteers from 20 churches across the Bluegrass State will descend on…
HeraldBeat
GOT NEWS? Send information for this page to heraldbeat editor Barbara Francis at [email protected]. Even better — add the Herald to your church’s newsletter email list, send us a link to your online newsletter or mail your newsletter to 2828…
Texas arrest rocks Alabama church
By Bob Allen An Alabama Baptist church fired its new pastor after his recent arrest on sexual abuse charges in Texas, but it isn’t the pastor’s first time in jail. Mark Allen Green, 41, in jail under a $500,000 bond…