Baptist News Global

Continuing the dream

With appropriate academic fanfare, Ronald W. Crawford, 56, was inaugurated as president of the Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond on Oct. 22. A crowd of about 300, which included BTSR faculty, administrators, members of the board of trustees, guests and…

Connect:2008

Virginia Baptists will gather in Roanoke Nov. 11-12 for Connect:2008, the annual meeting of the Baptist General Association of Virginia. Although preregistration has now closed, churches that have not preregistered all of their eligible messengers may register messengers on-site. On-site…

EDITORIAL: The financial fine line

Churches all across the Old Dominion are facing some difficult decisions. As the impact of an economy in full recession begins to affect financial decisions, churches are understandably cautious. In many cases, churches already feeling the financial pinch are facing…

SECOND OPINION: A new Virginia Statute?

Editor's note: When Thomas Jefferson penned the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom, he recognized that future legislators would have the power to amend it. Toward that end, he added a warning: “If any act shall be hereafter passed to repeal…

OUT LOUD

“Roger Williams was quite eccentric and a very annoying man who I would not want to hang out with for more than 10 hours or so, but he's kind of the hero of my book.” Sarah Vowell The author described…

Unto the hills

Southwest Virginia is big and bold and bodacious. Until the taming influence of Interstate 81, that ribbon of asphalt which makes straight the rough passages, Southwest Virginia was protected from the outside world by its own rough terrain. Even so,…

FAITH SHAPERS: The Lord’s Supper

Communion is a reverent, mystical event that takes us back to the very roots of our faith — and kids find it fascinating. Children always notice when adults get serious about something, and they want to be involved in special…

Study: Religious people more generous, helpful — but only with two conditions

WASHINGTON (RNS) — Reli-gious people are more helpful and generous than others — but only on two conditions, according to a new study published in the prestigious journal Science. University of British Columbia psychology researchers Ara Noren-zayan and Azim Shariff…

Report calls U.S. church giving ‘lukewarm’

WASHINGTON (RNS) — Amer-icans spent nearly twice as much on first-day sales of the video game “Grand Theft Auto IV” as the Southern Baptist Convention and its International Mission Board would need to share the gospel with all the world's…

Churches try to meet need of developmentally challenged kids

DAMASCUS, Md. (RNS) — On Sunday mornings at Damascus Road Community Church, when most children are dismissed from the sanctuary for Sunday school, another set of children and adults head to “The Haven.” Up to four dozen people gather in…

FAITH DIGEST

AFA says it's OK to order a Big Mac. The American Family Association has dropped its boycott of McDonald's after learning a representative of the restaurant chain no longer serves on the board of the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber…

Baptism still Baptists’ symbol but ‘problems’ must be answered

WACO, Texas (ABP) — After four centuries, believers baptism remains the symbol of Baptist identity, historian Bill Leonard stressed during a lecture series at Baylor University's George W. Truett Theological Seminary. But in the 21st century, Baptists must respond to…

Rubio says US shouldn’t be held accountable by international court

Demands mount as Trump’s ICE agents kill two more people

The real American religion: A July 4 postmortem

9 months later, schools are paying for firing teachers over Kirk posts