Does ET need Jesus? Vatican astronomer says, ‘no.' Intelligent life may exist on other planets and has no need of redemption through Jesus Christ, the director of the Vatican Observatory said. “Just as a multiplicity of creatures exists on the…
News about Virginia Baptists and their ministries for May 29, 2008
STAFF CHANGES • Israel Gwyn, to Oak Grove Church, Cana, as pastor. • Kenneth Compton, resigning as pastor of Fountain Creek Church, Emporia, to accept the pastorate of a church in North Carolina. • Randy Prouse, resigning as pastor of…
Baptists continue to respond to disasters
(ABP) — Baptists continue to mobilize supplies and prayer in an effort to minister to victims of natural disasters in China and Myanmar. News reports May 22 indicated the death toll in China had risen to 50,000, with 220,000 injured,…
Abundant field of SBC candidates may signal relaxed political reins
INDIANAPOLIS (ABP) — Candidates are lining up two-by-two for this year's Southern Baptist Convention presidency — two big-church pastors, two small-church pastors, two former missionaries. For the first time in almost three decades, six men will be nominated for the…
Virginia Baptists focused on China, Myanmar
RICHMOND — Virginia Baptists are responding to the natural disasters in both China and Myanmar through the Virginia Baptist Mission Board's glocal missions and evangelism team. Terry Raines, the board's disaster relief coordinator, participated in a May 24 meeting of…
Pass the popcorn
Christians tend to hear the words ‘popular culture' and react as if spitting something yucky from their mouths,” said David Dark, author of Everyday Apocalypse: The Sacred Revealed in Radiohead, The Simpsons and Other Pop Culture Icons and The Gospel…
Musician’s daughter killed in car accident
FRANKLIN, Tenn. (BP) — Maria Sue, the 5-year-old daughter of Christian musician Steven Curtis Chapman, died May 21 after she was struck by an SUV driven by her teenage brother in the family's driveway south of Nashville, Tenn. The Tennessean…
Christians called to make culture; let God handle transformation
Andy Crouch feels uncomfortable when Christians talk about transforming culture or making an impact on society. But he strongly believes churches should do far more to encourage Christians to make culture — right where they live. “I'm all for cultural…
Southern gospel music legend Dottie Rambo dies in crash
MOUNT VERNON, Mo. (ABP) — Southern gospel music singer and songwriter Dottie Rambo, 74, was killed when her tour bus ran off a highway near Mount Vernon, Mo., May 11. She was en route to an engagement in Texas after…
English service held at Chinese church
NANJING, China — I have been attending St. Paul's Church in Nanjing for a number of years. About five years ago, the senior pastor, Kan Renping, began an English Bible study on Thursday nights. This went on for about a…
Popular culture challenges Christians to ‘think outside the box,’ scholars insist
It can be difficult to hear God's word in today's media-saturated culture of iPods, YouTube, satellite radio, and DirecTV with over 500 channels and on-demand movies, two culture observers at Houston Baptist University conclude. “We are shaped by popular culture…
Longtime Baptist musician, seminary professor dies in Florida at 86
ORANGE PARK, Fla. (ABP) — Longtime Baptist hymn writer and music professor Hugh McElrath passed away May 8 at his winter home in Penney Farms, Fla. He also resided in Louisville, Ky. He was 86. McElrath was a professor of…