Baptist News Global

Students in Southwest Virginia gather for ‘a Burnin’ Youth Encounter’

DUBLIN — What kind of love do you have for God? Is it a “burnin’ love”? That’s the kind of love Craig Tackett presented to the students from 22 churches who gathered for the Highlands Youth EnCounter on the day…

Virginia Baptist churches begin 40 days of fasting and repentance with ashes

RICHMOND — Many Virginia Baptist congregations inaugurated their Lenten observance Feb. 25 with Ash Wednesday services — a tradition rooted in ancient Christianity and one increasingly common among Baptist churches across the Commonwealth. The service, which dates to at least…

VIRGINIA BRIEFS

ODU campus minister to retire. Rob Sandford, Baptist campus minister at Old Dominion University in Norfolk for 39 years, will retire June 5. Sandford, who also has overseen campus ministry at all schools in the Norfolk area, took the…

Virginia Baptist pastor discovers ways to deal with depression

RICHMOND — Kirby Smith has his life back. After years of struggling with clinical depression — what he calls “a hell on earth” — the Virginia Baptist pastor has discovered in both medical and psychological treatment a way to deal…

Ministers often need help caring for their own mental health

While congregations often view their pastors as strong, stable shepherds, many members of the clergy experience a large disconnect between the image they project and the mental and emotional battles to which they are subject. “I have never met a…

RIGHT or WRONG: Racism or sexism — Which is the more virulent “ism” in our society and churches?

A key word in the question is “virulent.” According to Webster’s Dictionary, “virulent” carries the impact of being actively poisonous, noxious, highly infective, intensely bitter, spiteful and malicious. To deny a person the right to participate in the fullness of…

OUT LOUD

“A spirit of adulation, bordering on servility, already exists among some of the same Democratic-friendly Catholic writers, scholars, editors and activists who once accused pro-lifers of being too cozy with Republicans.” Archbishop Charles Chaput The Denver, Colo., prelate was speaking…

VIRGINIA BAPTIST FORUM: No dichotomy between science, Bible

I really enjoyed the creation/evolution articles in the Feb. 12 edition of the Religious Herald. Bob Allen did a good job of covering the debate and ongoing discussions on the subject of origins. The “Clergy Letter Project” is indeed most…

HERITAGE: A time of beginnings

It was late in the afternoon of March 3, 1989, in the First Baptist Church of Greenville, S.C. Elmer West, long prominent in Baptist life, was there, along with others attending the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Alliance (now…

EDITORIAL: Does Darfur still matter?

The dusty roads of Sudan are a long way from Mainstreet, Virginia. Separated by thousands of miles, a chasm of ideology and an ocean of blood, most Virginia Baptists have been slow to recognize and even slower to respond to…

From the Eastern Shore to Cumberland Gap

STAFF CHANGES • Jonathan Hillard, to First Church, Gretna, as pastor. • Matthew Teves, to Sterling Park Church, Sterling, as pastor. • Armando de la Merced, to Grace Filipino Church, Woodbridge, as pastor. • Joey Giles, to James Square Church,…

Illinois Baptist pastor killed in service

A lone gunman entered the sprawling First Baptist Church of Maryville, Ill., Sunday morning, March 8, during its 8:15 a.m. service and after exchanging words with the pastor who had stepped down from the pulpit to greet the man, he…

PNBC plans ‘Freedom Sunday’ this weekend

Christian nationalism is neither Christian nor patriotic

High court says feds can deny reentry to Green Card holders

BNG introduces ‘Bible Divas’ podcast