This is the ninth in a BNG series of articles on Christianity and democracy that will lead toward the July 4 celebration of America’s 250th birthday. The series has been curated by Carol McEntyre, senior minister at First Baptist Church of...
By Amy Butler Lately, that vacation Bible school song “I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart” has been running around in my head, and I can’t get it out. Remember the song? We learned it, I…
By Bob Allen The Baptist Union of Great Britain will downsize its national staff from 46 to 32 employees and change the way it works with associations and Baptist colleges to better serve local churches in the 21st century. Changes approved…
By Bob Allen A diverse group of faith leaders wrote President Obama Nov. 13 to congratulate him on his re-election and pledge to work with the administration during the next four years to help the nation “live up to the…
If cordiality is the standard by which Baptist General Association of Virginia annual meetings are measured, the meeting just ended was one of the best. Newly-elected BGAV president Carl Johnson thanked the messengers at the close of the final session…
A man I once knew, now deceased, liked to express his opinion on various topics, such as divorce. He was proud that he still maintained that divorce is wrong, even though his own son was divorced. He gave examples of…
The simple phrase “I move to call the question” was all it took to stop the discussion and have Ginter Park Baptist Church disassociated from the Baptist General Association of Virginia. Based on what I observed at the annual meeting,…
After attending/voting at the Baptist General Association of Virginia 2012 annual meeting in Roanoke on the recent issue regarding Ginter Park Baptist Church with their ordination of an openly homosexual man, I feel that many will weigh in with a…
“On this I take my stand. I can do no other. God help me. Amen.” These are the words of Martin Luther at the Diet of Worms on April 18, 1521. On this date, Luther refused to recant his reformation…
One of the most helpful insights I have gained in recent years for understanding the leadership culture of congregational life is the concept of managing polarities. Polarities are ongoing, chronic issues that are unavoidable and unsolvable. They are the hardest…
Baptist disaster response teams from the Mid-Atlantic have prepared hundreds of thousands of meals in the Northeast, and relief organizers said they expect recovery operations to continue into December in the region hit hard by Hurricane Sandy. An expression of…
By Bob Allen One hundred Christian leaders in the Holy Land issued an open letter Nov. 14 asking western governments to support the Palestinian people in their struggle for independence and freedom. The letter from the Holy Land Christian Ecumenical…
