Healthy churches hear good preaching. Few would disagree with such a statement. However, the definition of good preaching is about as easy to agree upon as is good taste in fashion. Our definition of good preaching usually reflects our point…
EDITORIAL: Judging is harder than it seems
Have you been following the news? The tiny group calling itself a church (71 members as of 2008) made up mostly of the pastor’s extended family, has made it all the way to the Supreme Court of the United States….
HERITAGE: If walls could talk …
Sharon Baptist Church in King William County occupies one of the most historic buildings in the Virginia Baptist family. If walls could talk, the stories would be worth the listening. Sharon — a church which is older than the Republic…
Richmond Association elects area pastor as director of missions
RICHMOND, Va. — The Richmond Baptist Association has chosen one of its own pastors to serve as its next director of missions. J. Michael Robinson, who has been pastor of New Covenant Baptist Church in Henrico County since 1995, was…
Photo competition aids Haiti, honors renowned Baptist photographer
MIDLOTHIAN, Va. — A photo exhibit and competition sponsored by Winfree Memorial Baptist Church in Midlothian will raise money for victims of last January’s devastating earthquake in Haiti and honor an award-winning photojournalist whose work illustrated decades of Baptist mission…
INTERVIEW: Pastor says the biker culture needs more than ministry
Jim Denton is pastor of Gethsemane Baptist Church in Richlands, Va. He has contended for years that the biker culture is one that needs more than a ministry — it needs a church. Religious Herald editor Jim White spoke with…
Baptist bikers ascend Eagle Eyrie mountain for annual gathering
LYNCHBURG, Va. — On the first weekend in October, the roar of throbbing motorcycles pierced the stillness of the gorgeous fall weather as bikers converged on Eagle Eyrie, Virginia Baptists’ conference center in Lynchburg. Randy Ashcraft (left) and Jim Denton…
From the Eastern Shore to Cumberland Gap
STAFF CHANGES • Kenny Horne, to Greenbriar Church, Vansant, as pastor. PERFECT ATTENDANCE: Clover Bottom Baptist Church, Nathalie, celebrated the 46th year of perfect attendance in Sunday school of one of its members, Janie Crews, on Sept. 26. Pictured at…
Who are evangelicals? Some wonder if the term has lost its meaning
When evangelist Billy Graham, social activist Jim Wallis, pastor Rick Warren, theologian Al Mohler and author Brian McLaren all can fit under the umbrella term “evangelical,” some theological and cultural observers wonder if the term has lost its meaning. And…
Definitions of “evangelical” vary
The National Association of Evangelicals has a seven-point statement of faith. Members affirm they believe: • The Bible is the inspired, the only infallible, authoritative word of God. • There is one God, eternally existent in three persons—Father, Son and…
Moderate Baptists uneasy about evangelical political baggage
Are Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and Mainstream Baptists evangelicals? The answer is yes and no. Formed in reaction to the Southern Baptist Convention’s shift to the far right in the late 1980s and early 1990s, both the CBF and Mainstream focus…
Reduction in force planned at NAMB
ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP) — Telling staff of the Southern Baptist Convention's North American Mission Board “considerable change” is coming, President Kevin Ezell shared a retirement incentive with employees that will be the beginning of an overall reduction in force in…