“Take him out! Blow him up! Take him out! Blow him up!” the children chant during a vacation Bible school program at Mt. Olivet Baptist Church in Lexington, Ky. With eerie music looming over the scene, the viral TikTok video...
This news story originally ran on Jan. 14, 2013. Christian opponents to same-sex marriage want the government to treat homosexuals as a special category of persons subject to discrimination, similar to the way that African-Americans and women were categorized in…
I grow tired of hearing politicians talk about achieving common ground without ever seeming to make real progress. I hear people from various political perspectives talk about achieving common ground while acting uncompromising about their positions that actually seem to…
RICHMOND — A 10-member committee to study the structure of the Virginia Baptist Mission Board’s governing board was named Jan. 8. Carl Johnson, the Mission Board’s chair who also serves as president of the Baptist General Association of Virginia, unveiled…
RICHMOND — Churches affiliated with the Baptist General Association of Virginia funded 98 percent of the BGAV’s 2012 budget, the group’s chief finance officer announced Jan. 8. Contributions to the BGAV’s Cooperative Missions budget totalled $12,163,511 last year, just shy…
MOUNT VERNON, Va. — Jean Nelson Woodward, 88, died Jan. 7 in a hospice care center in Northern Virginia. For the past nine years she was a resident of Sunrise in Mount Vernon, Va. Woodward Woodward was president of…
The Baptist General Association of Virginia’s precedent in response to Ginter Park Baptist Church’s ordination creates a brand-new challenge for Virginia Baptists. In acting to “disfellowship” from Ginter Park over its decision to ordain a particular member, the BGAV has…
A short poem by Mary Oliver: Instructions for Living a Life: Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it. I wonder what it would be like to live with this as a motto for my year. Lisa Cole Smith I sometimes…
A few days following the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., Richard Land, recent head of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, was interviewed on National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered.” The interviewer was…
Those who know me know that I absolutely love college football. I love the pageantry, the tradition and, of course, the tailgating. My most magical season reached its annual conclusion last week with Alabama’s rolling 42-14 victory over Notre Dame…
Tithe: More theory than practice? Vicki Brown The issue of tithing — traditionally understood as 10 percent — has perplexed churchgoers for years. Interpretation and denominational practice usually set the tone for givers, often with tension between giving as law…
