Payday loan outlets have grown like kudzu in recent years. Texas, for instance, has more payday lender outlets — about 3,000 — than it has McDonald’s and Whataburger restaurants combined. And some churches and pastors are asking how they can…
Youth at Suffolk church spend weekend preparing for Easter ministries
Youth fill Easter eggs for their church's annual egg hunt. SUFFOLK, Va. — The weekend of March 12-14 was a busy one for the youth at Holland Baptist Church in Suffolk, Va., as they prepared for a variety of ministry…
China’s religious head says 4 million house churches must register
HONG KONG (RNS/ENI) — The Chinese government’s new head of religious affairs has downplayed the role of house churches during his first official visit to Hong Kong, saying they must be registered with the government for their own protection. Wang…
Abuse scandal imperils pope’s drive to reclaim Europe’s Christian heritage
PARIS (RNS) — Days after being elected pope in 2005, Pope Benedict XVI referred to one of Europe’s patron saints, Benedict of Norcia, as he explained his choice of papal name to thousands of pilgrims massed in St. Peter’s Square….
BTSR to suspend operations of its continuing education component
RICHMOND, Va. — Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond will suspend operations of its School of Christian Ministry in July, a move the seminary’s president says will benefit both BTSR and its six-year-old continuing education component. The last group of classes…
VIRGINIA BAPTIST FORUM: Editor’s attack on Glenn Beck was unjustified
This is in response to the editorial by James E. White concerning social justice and the Glenn Beck show [Herald, March 18]. I watched that program and I did not understand it as the writer did. Glenn Beck never said…
VIRGINIA BAPTIST FORUM: Where were women on hymnal committee?
Your April 1 issue contained a major article concerning the “New Baptist hymnal unveiled in Atlanta” (headline). The text offers some insights as to how the hymnal was compiled. Also pictured is the five-member editorial board, which was described as…
VIRGINIA BAPTIST FORUM: New hymnal is welcome addition
Thank you for the two articles [Herald, April 1] about the new Celebrating Grace hymnal. It truly is, as the article says, “a hymnal built by Baptists for Baptists." I have watched the progress in the preparation of this hymnal…
Congregational-health expert says churches and ministers are ‘in crisis’
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (ABP) — During his installation March 18 as president of the Center for Congregational Health, Bill Wilson said churches and ministers are "in crisis." That's a breath-sucking observation from the head of an organization that has dealt with…
LENTEN MEDITATION: Them, us and the Passion of Jesus
Engaging Scripture and encountering the Lord of Scripture can be dangerous. Maybe that’s why many of us have learned the art of showing up Sunday after Sunday for “Bible study” without much risk of doing either. That truth came home…
RESURRECTION DAY MEDITATION: After Easter, be more like Jesus
The highest holy day of the year for Christians is here. Christians will rightfully celebrate God’s sacrifice in the death of His Son on a ghastly cross. We will remember His death reverently and soberly. But we also will rejoice…
OUT LOUD
“The church in the United States can offer a message of hope and reconciliation to a nation that is deeply divided by politlcal and cultural differences. Too often, however, we have reflected the political divisions of our culture rather than…