Baptist News Global

News about Virginia Baptists and their ministries for December 6, 2007

STAFF CHANGES • Steven R. Gupton, to First Church, Virginia Beach, as pastor. He had served as pastor of Ivor Church, Ivor. • Joel Jenkins, resigning as pastor of First Church, Charlottesville, to continue active duty service in military chaplaincy….

Stand and deliver

God chose “the foolishness of preaching” as the preferred instrument for communicating the message of salvation, the Apostle Paul wrote. But when the time arrives to stand and deliver that message, how does a preacher measure whether it's an exercise…

EDITORIAL: Spiritual leadership is the demand of the day

Each Lord's Day pastors throughout the world stand before their congregations and deliver sermons they believe are messages from the Lord. Speaking from experience, the weight of such weekly work is both exhausting and exhilarating. The sheer effort required in…

Adventures of a church planter

Jeremiah Bell Jeter was in a dilemma. After several years of a highly successful pastorate at the prestigious First Baptist Church of Richmond, “the music demon” visited the church. In today's language, it was “the worship wars.” And it all…

SECOND OPINION: Getting past reaction

One of the enduring tendencies in human life is reaction. Unhappy with the prevailing tendencies of a person or group we oppose, especially in situations of sharp conflict, we swing sharply in the other direction. Oftentimes when we do so…

Out Loud

“A headline last Sunday about a Muslim man and an Orthodox woman who are partners in two Dunkin' Donuts stores described their religions incorrectly. The two faiths worship the same God — not different ones.” The New York Times The…

Conservative Christians show growing acceptance of divorce

WASHINGTON (RNS)—When Pentecostal power couple Randy and Paula White recently announced they were headed to divorce court, the most remarkable part of the reaction was that there wasn't much reaction at all among their supporters. For increasing numbers of clergy,…

Groups say hunger stats, food prices up

WASHINGTON (RNS)—While millions of Americans stock their kitchens for holiday feasts, many groups are concerned about people who will go hungry during the festive season—and in the weeks and months to come. Inflation has made food more expensive, making it…

Need help understanding the Old Testament? Ask an African Christian

SAN DIEGO (ABP)—African Christians tend to understand and appreciate the Old Testament far better than their Western counterparts, author Philip Jenkins told a group of evangelical scholars. Jenkins, a professor of religious studies and history at Pennsylvania State University, spoke…

‘Your actions do matter,’ panelists urged those fearful of Trump authoritarianism

Caged and aged

‘Cloistering’ is not the answer to America’s great divide, Burge says

The (unforgivable?) sins of the white American church