RICHMOND, Va. — An April 30 awareness event sponsored by International Justice Ministries, the Richmond Justice Initiative and First Baptist Church in Richmond, Va., drew dozens of people from Central Virginia to focus on human trafficking. The day’s activities included…
US / World Briefs
Religious freedom ambassador sworn in. Suzan Johnson Cook, an American Baptist pastor, author and motivational speaker, was sworn in May 16 as Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom by Undersecretary of State for Democracy and Global Affairs Maria Otero. Johnson Cook…
NC Briefs
Causey to retire. Jack Causey will retire at the end of May as director of services to ministers at the Center for Congregational Health in Winston-Salem, N.C., a position he has held since 1996. Causey, who will continue as ministerial…
EDITORIAL: The awful truth of an awful place
From the soaring heights of the Bavarian alps, we visited Neuschwanstein castle’s classical beauty. Our travels then took us to the Concentration Camp Memorial at Dachau on Sunday, May 22. Since the International Baptist Church’s English service was scheduled to…
Brunswick County, Va., churches unite to help area teenager
Joseph Giles Jr. presents a check to Makayla Clary. LAWRENCEVILLE, Va. — For the past three years churches in southern Brunswick County, Va., have gathered during Holy Week and collectively received an offering to support a needy cause. This year’s…
OUT LOUD
“I am being faithful to Jesus by welcoming the stranger into the community. … We are two different faiths building relationships, talking together, working together for a common purpose.” Dennis Perry The pastor of Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Alexandria,…
As need for child care declined, a church refocused ministry on seniors
RURAL HALL, N.C. — Making a tough decision to close its day care center after 20 years prompted a small North Carolina church to establish a center for senior adults in Rural Hall, N.C., a mid-state area with a high…
ACP remains key metric, but declining participation worries strategists
RICHMOND, Va. — The amount of data that exists in the world today is mind-boggling. Credit card companies monitor every purchase to identify fraudulent ones with a high degree of accuracy. Mobile-phone operators analyze subscribers’ calling patterns to determine if…
Roundup of Baptists in the Mid-Atlantic
STAFF CHANGES • Wayne Tyree, to Mt. Zion Baptist Church, New Canton., Va., as pastor. • Randy Cheeley, to Dinwiddie Baptist Church, Dinwiddie, Va., as pastor. • Philip Reynolds, to First Baptist Church, Hickory, N.C., as pastor. Temple Baptist Church…
HERITAGE: Beyond the borders
There is a world beyond the borders of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Sometimes this thought challenges the sensibilities of the most provincial among us, yet Virginia Baptists have been exploring that larger land for a long, long time. Luther Rice,…
LETTER: The BJC, ultra-liberals do more damage than atheists
The information that the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty has declared the National Day of Prayer as unwise and unnecessary [Herald, May 12] reminds us of the old phrase, “We have met the enemy, and they is us.” We…
VITAL SIGNS: Traps for clergy and their new congregation
In a recent conversation, a minister asked me what I thought were the major traps that most often snared ministers when they moved to a new congregation. Great question! Healthy churches and ministers pay attention to potential trouble spots and…