By Robert Dilday “I think the most important question a congregation can ask is: Who is God calling us to be?” said Beth Kennett of the Center for Congregational Health in Winston-Salem, N.C. “And wherever they are located, they must add to…
Black Baptist leader rebukes Obama
By Bob Allen A pastor who led the Southern Baptist Convention to adopt a resolution in 2009 applauding the election of Barack Obama as America’s first African-American president termed the president’s May 9 endorsement of same-sex marriage a betrayal of…
Pastor moms juggle ministry, motherhood
Mothers’ Day 2012 will dawn with more women than ever in Baptist pulpits. But even those who welcome the trend say the corresponding ascension of the minister mom is creating tensions, too, within families, and the hearts of female pastors….
Baptist school names president
By Vicki Brown Anthony Allen, a 44-year-old administrator at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary has been named 17th president of Baptist-affiliated Hannibal-LaGrange University in Missouri. Allen, senior vice president for administration and chief administrative officer at the Southern Baptist Convention seminary…
Baptists split on NC gay marriage ban
By Bob Allen Some religious leaders hailed North Carolina’s May 8 passage of a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman as a win for family values, while others vowed to continue the fight for what…
Baptists split on NC gay marriage ban
RALEIGH, N.C.—Some religious leaders hailed North Carolina’s May 8 passage of a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman as a win for family values, while others vowed to continue the fight for what they call…
Baptist ministry leaving Vandy
By Bob Allen The Baptist and Reflector reported May 7 that while the university has approved the Baptist ministry as a recognized student organization on campus, that BCM will decline that status. The Tennessee Baptist Convention owns the Baptist Collegiate…
Kentucky Baptists losing 27 staff
By Bob Allen Officials said May 7 that 23 full-time and four part-time employees of the KBC Mission Board accepted incentive packages and will leave their jobs by June 30. With the latest round of cuts, the second in a…
Leaders judged only by Christ, says seminary president
LYNCHBURG, Va.—“Play to an audience of one,” a seminary president told a leadership conference May 4. Jeff Iorg, president of Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary in suburban San Francisco, was keynote speaker at the May 4-5 Leadership Gathering at Eagle…
Berryville, Va., church aims to put smile on faces
BERRYVILLE, Va.—“Free stuff makes everyone smile,” said Tim Walraven after attending Berryville (Va.) Baptist Church’s “Free for All” yard sale April 14. Linda Gum looks through the “Free for All” yard sale items. And that’s what the church was hoping…
Raceway becomes focus of ministry for weekend
HENRICO, Va.—Twice a year a 1,000-acre plot of land in Henrico County, Va., becomes the fifth largest city in Virginia as approximately 200,000 race fans descend on the Richmond International Raceway for three days of NASCAR racing. For the 12th…
Author says young Christians tired of culture war
By Bob Allen Author Jonathan Merritt wrote a USA Today op-ed piece that ran the day before the official May 7 release of his new book, A Faith of Our Own: Following Jesus Beyond the Culture Wars. The son of…