Baptist News Global

Two top Texas Baptist leaders resign: No. 2 exec Gunter, WMU chief Porterfield

DALLAS (ABP) — Ron Gunter, chief operating officer for the Baptist General Convention of Texas, has resigned. His Oct. 18 announcement came two days after Carolyn Porterfield announced her resignation as executive director-treasurer of the Woman's Missionary Union of Texas….

GOP candidates try to woo ‘values voters’ at meeting

WASHINGTON (ABP) — About 2,000 of America's “values voters,” described by some as a disgruntled constituency, gathered in Washington, D.C., Oct. 19 to be wooed by the Republican presidential candidates. The three-day event came the same day Kansas Sen. Sam…

Values Voters Summit: Land, Wallis debate how faith influences politics

WASHINGTON (ABP) — Jim Wallis and Richard Land agree that faith should influence public policy. They just can't agree on how. The two evangelical leaders — one conservative, one progressive — locked horns in an Oct. 19 debate at the…

‘Values voters’ prefer Romney, Huckabee; Giuliani finishes disappointing 8th

WASHINGTON (ABP) — Voters in an Oct. 20 straw poll seemed to confirm what many pundits have said all along: Conservative Christians simply will not support a presidential candidate who backs abortion rights. In the second-largest straw poll of this…

The Spirit in stone

A church building is “God's calling card,” telling the watching world what we believe, says one Christian architect. So what message are we sending? If your sanctuary could speak, what would it say? The truth is, it does speak—every day,…

Historic sanctuaries: To be or not to be?

DALLAS—When maintaining a sanctuary with a long history, congregations must look long into the future, according to Keith Crouch, Baptist General Convention of Texas church architecture director. Spencer Elliott Calvary Baptist Church, New York City Decisions about maintaining a historic…

Revival of the arts

FALLS CHURCH (ABP)—Architect Larry Cook believes “any building completely devoid of art is devoid of spirituality.” The Virginian is one of a growing number of architects who welcome the return of symbolism and spirituality to church buildings. After decades of…

Bluefield College celebrates 8th annual Baptist Heritage Day

BLUEFIELD—Bluefield College celebrated its history Oct. 3 with an annual Baptist Heritage Day ceremony on campus, featuring a keynote address from an authority on Baptist life, Boyce Brannock, president of the Baptist General Association of Virginia. For the eighth consecutive…

FIRST PERSON: 225 years for Northwest church

CHESAPEAKE — Rarely does a church celebrate a 225th anniversary. One such church is Northwest Baptist Church in Chesapeake. This church predates the Portsmouth Baptist Association by nine years. Dating back to 1782, when the church was called North Upper…

Christian men gather on National Mall

WASHINGTON—In numbers that were far fewer but with a faith that was nonetheless fervent, evangelical Christian men gathered in the shadow of the Washington Monument Oct. 6 for a day of spiritual renewal that recalled a much larger meeting of…

SBC president addresses Lynchburg congregation

LYNCHBURG—On Wednesday evening, Oct. 10, West Lynchburg Baptist Church hosted Southern Baptist Convention president Frank Page in a special worship service in what Page called his first visit to Virginia since his election. Speaking to a crowd—including some from other…

EDITORIAL: Pastor-church relations

I remember how clear and cold it was on that New Mexico morning as I sat sipping coffee with two pastors at the Glorieta Conference Center. At the time, in the mid-1980s, I was editing The Deacon, a publication of…

What Disclosure Day reveals about evangelicals’ fears

Insufficient

6 ways the Reflecting Pool boondoggle mirrors Trump and MAGA

Pilate asked Jesus, ‘What is truth?’