RUCKERSVILLE, Va. — The special needs ministry at Spring Hill Baptist Church in Ruckersville is exciting, vibrant and growing. But it hasn't always been that way. When my family moved here nearly seven years ago so I could join the…
News about Virginia Baptists and their ministries for Sept. 6, 2007
STAFF CHANGES • Jack Thomas, to Lyles Church, Palmyra, as pastor. • Dennis V. Jones, to Dublin Church, Dublin, as pastor. • Joshua L. M. Pittman, to Upper King & Queen Church, Newtown, as pastor. • James Combow, resigning as…
VIRGINIA BRIEFS
Virginia Baptist Library Association plans conference. VBLA has announced plans for its fall conference, to be held Oct. 12-13 at First Baptist Church in Richmond, focusing on the theme “The Church Library—Treasury of the Past, Key to the Future.” The…
2ND OPINION: I was a stranger and you took me in
I remember so many occasions when I was a stranger in a foreign land. I traveled over Latin America and the rest of the world as a missionary with the International Mission Board, serving as a consultant in the use…
‘The Negro problem’
It was a “sunny, balmy and bracing” day in Lynchburg in late February 1883 when about 300 persons gathered for the first Congress of Virginia Baptists. For several days ministers and laypersons listened to lectures on various issues of the…
OUTLOUD
“Martin loved jokes. He said, ‘If a preacher can't tell a joke, don't fool with him 'cause he can't preach either.' ” Samuel Billy Lyles The Memphis, Tenn., pastor was recalling the late civil rights leader Martin Luther King during…
BAPTIST BRIEFS
Some SBC leaders endorse blog. Several prominent Baptist leaders have publicly endorsed a groundbreaking blog operated by reform-minded pastors within the Southern Baptist Convention. The endorsers include the presidents of three SBC entities and a college president—Morris Chapman, president of…
FAITHSHAPERS: Parenting part 2
Last month we talked about the dangers of short-term thinking and the advantages of staying focused on the long-term. When we have our goals firmly in mind, we are able to be strategic in our daily decisions. I would like…
Some Christian readers bewitched by Potter, wild about Harry
DALLAS (ABP)—J.K. Row-ling isn't likely to repeat John Lennon's mistake. She probably won't compare the record-setting popularity of her Harry Potter books to that of Jesus Christ, but the global reach of the title character's adventures is undeniable. The last…
SBC candidate calls for God’s wrath against AU
BUENA PARK, Calif. (ABP) — An early candidate for the presidency of the Southern Baptist Convention has called on Baptists to pray for misfortune to befall employees of a church-state watchdog group. Wiley Drake, a pastor, radio crusader and Baptist…
Billy Graham’s access to Oval Office spanned 11 U.S. presidents
It doesn't take long to make a list of religious leaders who've made personal connections with each of the last 11 U.S. presidents. There's really just one name: Billy Graham. The evangelist who has spent the last six decades preaching…
Black churches face challenges in maintaining musical tradition
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (RNS)—Music, for many, is at the heart of the black worship experience. “Music comes as a softener of people,” said Frank Thomas, pastor of Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church in Memphis, Tenn. “It allows me to gradually open myself…