VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Until about 15 years ago, St. John’s Baptist Church in this resort community was surrounded by farms and country roads. Today those farms have been replaced by $500,000 houses filled with people eager to enjoy Virginia…
WINN RECOMMENDS
Between Heaven and Mirth, James Martin (HarperOne) Martin’s subtitle (Why Joy, Humor and Laughter Are at the Heart of the Spiritual Life) tells you where he’s heading. Martin believes that revelry, enjoyment, the “ability to laugh at life’s absurdities” are…
VITAL SIGNS: Confession from a consultant
Time for a confession. Let me tell you a consultant’s dirty little secret: congregational strategic planning is frequently a waste of time and can be counterproductive. There, it’s out. Now, it’s time to explain. Many congregations, for a variety of…
TRENDING: Evangelism from macro to micro
“Whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house!’ And if anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you. Remain in the same house, eating…
EDITORIAL: How could something so good have been such a bust?
I am scratching my head wondering how the New Baptist Covenant II, supported philosophically and theologically by so many Baptists, drew such meager attendance? Meeting Nov. 17-20 in Atlanta and seven other locations linked by satellite simulcasts, some NBC II…
And the winner is ….
Anne Cole Aker, the winner in a recent contest sponsored by the Religious Herald, receives her iPad from Brian Clingenpeel of Roanoke, Va., president of the Herald’s board of trustees. RICHMOND, Va. — The Religious Herald has announced the winner…
Opinion: Always reforming
(ABP) — Ecclesia Semper Reformanda, so the saying goes, “the church is always reforming.” Those words came to mind last week when I heard sociologist-prophet-iconoclast Tony Campolo preach at the New Baptist Covenant II meeting, that multiracial effort at affecting…
News Analysis: Churches not typically first reporters of sexual abuse
DENVER (ABP) – Southern Baptist churches are rarely the first party to report allegations of child sexual abuse by clergy to legal authorities, according to an analysis of news stories aggregated at a website maintained by an advocate for victims….
Baptist church takes stand for gay marriage
RALEIGH, N.C. (ABP) – Members of a North Carolina Baptist church voted unanimously Nov. 20 to stop performing civil marriages until it becomes legal for same-sex couples to wed. Pullen Memorial Baptist Church in Raleigh, N.C., says current state law…
Baptist church takes stand for gay marriage
RALEIGH, N.C. (ABP) — Members of a North Carolina Baptist church voted unanimously Nov. 20 to stop performing civil marriages until it becomes legal for same-sex couples to wed. Pullen Memorial Baptist Church in Raleigh, N.C., says current state law…
OPINION: Tebow apologetics
Football and politics have something in common these days beside combat. Each wrestles with the role religion plays in its game. Tim Tebow is a curious case on the gridiron. A passionate evangelical Christian and one of the most heralded…
Low attendance disappoints New Baptist Covenant planners
ATLANTA (ABP) – Planners of the Nov. 17-19 New Baptist Covenant gatherings were disappointed with attendance but pleased with the diversity and quality of presentations, one of the organizers said Nov. 21. “We had hoped for a larger attendance,” said…