STAFF CHANGES • David Benjamin, to Winfree Memorial Church, Midlothian, as pastor. • Bill Hardison, to May Memorial Church, Powhatan, as pastor. • Lee McConnell, to New Hope Church, Chesterfield, as pastor. • Garrett Sheldon,now serving as pastor of First…
RIGHT OR WRONG?
I've been reading a lot about whether it is right or wrong to applaud in church. Is this just a cultural issue, or is there something deeper? The preaching of John Chrysostom 1,600 years ago troubled people of nobility but…
Faith groups push to increase minimum wage to $10 an hour
WASHINGTON (RNS) — A nonpartisan coalition of more than 90 faith, community, labor and business organizations has launched an ambitious “$10 in 2010” campaign to raise the federal minimum wage within two years. The Let Justice Roll Living Wage Campaign…
Survey suggests ‘unchurched’ represent a pretty fluid group
WASHINGTON (RNS) — A new survey shows that “unchurched” Americans may be worshipping more, and “churched” Americans worshipping less, than many people might think. Numerous surveys track trends among “unchurched” Americans, but what does “unchurched” really mean? Does it mean…
Healing the sick
What distinguishes religiously-affiliated hospitals from their secular counterparts? Chaplains and charity care top the list, administrators of faith-based, nonprofit health care institutions agree. “Every morning at 5 a.m., a chaplain goes into our surgical unit, where he has the opportunity…
Faith no laughing matter, court says
NEWARK, N.J. (RNS) — Making jokes and comments about a person's religion can create a “humiliating and painful environment” and be a form of on-the-job discrimination, New Jersey's highest court recently ruled. The New Jersey Supreme Court said remarks about…
Texas’s Bethesda Clinic brings hope to the uninsured
TYLER, Texas — A trip to the doctor can be financially catastrophic for some people — the 45 million uninsured or underinsured Americans. Bethesda Health Clinic, a faith-based primary-care clinic started primarily by First Baptist Church of Tyler, is addressing…
Reading the Bible anew — with the chronology clarified
Bob Sanford wanted to create a Bible that would bring order and clarity to the text. Instead, he's waded right into one of the great debates of biblical scholarship. The Chronological Study Bible will be released this fall in the…
Sunday school class project sparks international ministry
FALLS CHURCH — An eye-opening visit by a Baptist Sunday school class to a Moscow hospital nearly 20 years ago sparked a ministry that provides millions of dollars in medical supplies to almost 100 countries around the world. In 1989,…