No one who has talked with Southern Baptist Convention president Johnny Hunt can doubt that he is a man who is deeply concerned about dipping baptism figures in the SBC. For the fourth straight year Southern Baptist churches baptized fewer…
Virginia Baptist chairs disaster relief network for North American Baptists
FALLS CHURCH (ABP) — Several Baptist denominations in the United States and Canada have established a formal disaster-relief network to coordinate efforts among the various groups, according to a May 13 press release from the Baptist World Alliance. Terry Raines…
Huguenot Road awarded grant by Cooperative Baptist Fellowship
ATLANTA — Huguenot Road Baptist Church in Richmond has been awarded an “It’s Time” Missional Ministry grant of $25,000 by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. The grant will help fund the church’s partnership with the Hyaets ministry in Charlotte, N.C. Hyaets,…
HERITAGE: The bishop of the Blackwater
If Baptists had bishops (and they don’t), the bishop of the Blackwater Baptist Association was Ira D. “Tuck” Hudgins. He filled the role of elder statesman, counselor and pulpit supply until his death on April 28 at age 91. Fred…
From the Eastern Shore to Cumberland Gap
STAFF CHANGES • Ethan Waters, to Glenn Memorial Church, Prospect, as pastor. • Kevin Wirt, resigning as pastor of Burkeville Church, Burkeville. • Kevin Sayler, to New Beginnings Church, Richmond, as interim pastor. • Aaron Lee, to Gayton Church, Richmond,…
OUT LOUD
“We want this to be a political mud pit for Obama. Our mission is to tar him with the blood of the babies so he can never shake it between now and 2012.” RANDALL TERRY. The anti-abortion activist was referring…
Operation Inasmuch impacts Sandston community
SANDSTON — The members of Sandston Baptist Church in Sandston spent Saturday, April 18, serving their community through Operation Inasmuch. This was the third year the congregation has sponsored this hands-on experience, motivated by Matthew 25, in which Jesus says the…
5-year-old Iraqi Christian boy kidnapped, then killed
WASHINGTON (BP) — The body of a kidnapped 5-year-old Iraqi Christian boy was discovered riddled with gunshots May 11, according to a report issued May 13 by International Christian Concern, a Washington-based human rights organization. The youth, Tony Adwar Shaweel,…
Pakistani Christians caught in crossfire
ISTANBUL (BP) — Christians in Pakistan’s Swat Valley are caught between the Taliban and the nation’s military as it assaults the stronghold where sharia (Islamic law) is in force. Nearly 15,000 troops have been deployed in the picturesque Swat Valley…
SBC not flexible enough to value churches who do missions outside system, says Hunt
WOODSTOCK, Ga. (ABP) — Part of the reason Southern Baptist Convention president Johnny Hunt was ready to “shock the system” with a strongly worded call to a “Great Commission Resurgence” is that he and other leading Southern Baptist pastors feel…
VIRGINIA BAPTIST FORUM: Why handouts?
In my attendance at our Baptist meetings — associational, state and national — I’ve often questioned, within my own mind, why we spend so much money on advertising — promoting our ministry efforts through handouts. It seems somehow redundant, for…
VIRGINIA BAPTIST FORUM: Darfur atrocities
Your editorial on the atrocities against the people of Darfur was vividly thorough, though long overdue. While I commend you for your coverage, I was appalled at your veiled comparisoin of the alleged torture of prisoners at the Guantanamo prison…