MIDDLESEX, N.J. (RNS)—As Boy Scout Troop 114 cooked lunch during the recent Highland Games near their tents in a Middlesex County, N.J., park, a senior Scout summoned his fellow members. The Scouts huddled around tree trunks in Thompson Park and…
Setting up obstacles
I see in the Dec. 6 issue of the Religious Herald that the subject of drinking alcohol is still a problem for weak brethren. At the age of 12 I signed the pledge that the Women's Christian Temperance Union promoted….
Tech professor named most inspiring person
BLACKSBURG (RNS)—The Holocaust survivor who helped save students' lives before dying during a shooting spree at Virginia Tech last April was named by Beliefnet.com as its Most Inspiring Person of the Year. Professor Liviu Librescu, 76, was one of 32…
Jezebel
Surely, you didn't mean to publish author Lesley Hazelton's comments about her book, Jezebel: The Untold Story of the Bible's Harlot Queen. Hazelton is quoted as saying, “She was a magnificent, proud, powerful queen of Israel.” Jezebel may have been…
Does ‘Compass’ point kids in the wrong direction?
NEW YORK (RNS)—The holiday season means it's time for another Hollywood wintry blockbuster with a cast of talking animals, witches and an earnest child to point the way to truth and justice. But some Christians who applauded the Christian allegory…
Blair, afraid of being labeled a ‘nutter,’ kept faith private
LONDON (RNS) — Former British prime minister Tony Blair says his religious faith, although rarely expressed in public, was “hugely important” to him but he feared he might be viewed as a “nutter” if he spoke out about it. Blair,…
OFFERINGS: Bandela partners with Indian church starters in ministry
ATLANTA — For five years, Sam Bandela, one of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship's global missions field personnel, has been working patiently among hill tribes in the mountainous central region of India. Even as tsunami relief and personal challenges intervened, Bandela…
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…