Words matter. So, I felt put off when speakers at a Baptist meeting filled the air with ministerial jargon, insider language, clichés and sexist comments. Can such misuse of language help explain the decline in church attendance and Christian commitment?…
India’s Supreme Court changes ruling after protest by Christians
FALLS CHURCH, Va. (ABP) — India's Supreme Court amended a ruling upholding a life-in-prison sentence for two men convicted of murdering a Baptist missionary and his two young sons 12 years ago by removing language that critics said appeared to…
Wiley Drake mulling run for president of Southern Baptist Convention
BUENA PARK, Calif. (ABP) — A former Southern Baptist Convention vice president criticized by denominational leaders two years ago for controversial comments concerning Barack Obama is considering allowing his nomination for SBC president in 2011. Wiley Drake, pastor of First…
CBF carries on ministry in Haiti one year after quake
ATLANTA (ABP) — As Haiti marked the one-year anniversary Jan. 12 of a devastating earthquake that claimed an estimated 300,000 lives and displaced more than 1 million people, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship field personnel and relief workers battled a cholera epidemic…
VIRGINIA BRIEFS
Center seeking applicants for Heritage Fellows. Virginia Baptist college students who will be in their sophomore or junior years in 2011-12 are invited to apply for positions as Heritage Fellows, a special recognition offered by the Center for Baptist Heritage…
Group marks 183rd anniversary of Religious Herald’s first edition
RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia Baptist leaders and Religious Herald staff gathered in downtown Richmond Jan. 11 to mark the day 183 years earlier the Virginia Baptist newsjournal published its first issue. Marking the Herald’s 183rd anniversary were (from left) Jim…
EDITORIAL: 22 years of therapy — for free
The editorial theme we and our New Voice Media partners chose for this issue has to do with the support ministers (and others) can give each other. Although I have mentioned it in previous editorials, I feel compelled be more…
VBS material ‘Finds Hope’ in writers at Newport News, Va., congregation
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — God often works unexpectedly. “Finding Hope: A Field Trip of Faith,” the Vacation Bible School material produced by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, is a prime example. Available March 1, “Finding Hope” is being called “a unique…
CBF leaders join in CCT response to King’s jail letter
ATLANTA — Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Executive Coordinator Daniel Vestal and Moderator-elect Colleen Burroughs have issued a historic letter in response to Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1963 “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” The statement responding to King’s letter emerged from the annual…
From the Eastern Shore to the Cumberland Gap
STAFF CHANGES • Robert Brown, to Black-stone Church, Blackstone, as pastor. • Ben Sturgis, to Orchard Drive Church, Bassett, as pastor. • Kevin Wirt, to Pleasant Hill Church, Daleville, as pastor. • Matthew McCraney, to Rock Hill Church, Stafford, as…
VIRGINIA BAPTIST FORUM: Protests dropping of Herald subscription
I would like to protest. Since 1975 I have been a member of BGAV churches. I am a retired pastor, a member of Story Creek Baptist Church in Franklin County. I protest having to pay for a copy of the…
ASK THE ARCHITECT: Master plan criteria
Whether your church is relocating to a new site or expanding within your existing property, there are a number of master plan criteria to consider. The following will impact the shaping of your master plan — they are the specific…