By Jeff Brumley The demographics of Halifax County, N.C., are appalling. Unemployment is above 13 percent and one resident in four earns income below the poverty line. The county is part of the fourth poorest congressional district in the nation….
Border violence keeps mission teams home
By Jeff Brumley Steadily declining mission trips to Mexico due to drug violence has left many Mexicans feeling abandoned just when their anxiety levels are peaking, missions experts in Texas say. “It’s unprecedented,” said E. Daniel Rangel, director of River Ministry…
Reading the Bible in pink and blue
By Vicki Brown Does God have prescribed roles for men and women, and does he require those roles to be filled in specific ways? Many evangelicals, including Baptists, are divided into two camps on this issue – “complementarian” and “egalitarian.”…
Women seek God’s will at home, church
By Vicki Brown Married nearly five years, Courtney Fenton of Hannibal, Mo., wanted to be married but wasn’t sure she wanted to have children. But the day she married, “something switched” in her brain and the desire for little ones…
Women protest army rapes in Burma
By Bob Allen Leaders of a ministry for women and girls in American Baptist churches called on the United States to insist on human-rights reforms – including ending the use of rape as a weapon of war – before moving…
Longtime prof Wayne Ward dies
By Bob Allen Wayne Ward, a longtime theology professor at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., died May 23 after suffering a stroke earlier in the week. He was 90. In 1951, Ward was elected instructor in theology and…
Longtime prof Wayne Ward dies
By Bob Allen Wayne Ward, a longtime theology professor at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., died May 23 after suffering a stroke earlier in the week. He was 90. In 1951, Ward was elected instructor in theology and…
LEADERSHIP LINK: What a herd of water buffalo can teach the church
Two weekends ago I had the delightful experience of leading a deacons’ retreat for Cradock Baptist Church. Taking a break from PowerPoint presentations we looked to the internet for inspiration and found it on YouTube. I first saw the Battle…
HeraldBeat
Transitions ON THE MOVE Jeff Harris, to Calvary Baptist Church, Asheville, N.C., as pastor. Jeff Mathis, to First Baptist Church, Sylva, N.C., as pastor. Robert Moon, resigning as interim pastor of Middleburg (Va.) Baptist Church. Kyle Bauman, to Durham (N.C.)…
Portsmouth, Va., class has been gathering for 52 years
PORTSMOUTH, Va.—Although almost every community has a number of developmentally-challenged citizens, most churches don’t quite know how to provide for them. Cradock Baptist Church in Portsmouth, Va., however, sees ministry to this group as one of its primary missions. Since…
Tournament raises funds for retirement communities
RICHMOND, Va.–A golf tournament sponsored by Lakewood Manor, a Richmond, Va., retirement community, raised more than $25,000 last month for its benevolent endowment fund. Lakewood is one of four retirement centers of the Virginia Baptist Homes. Whit Crowell, a Lakewood…
Leadership network has new name
ROANOKE, Va.—The Christian Leadership Network, a seven-year-old organization which trains leaders for ministry, has a new name—the Christian Leaders Link. “Our mission remains the same—to connect current and future leaders with trainng and ministry,” said director Gary Chapman. Established in…


