When a community needs to rebuild crumbling roads, should houses of worship pay fees for the number of times their congregants drive on them? That’s the question behind a recent suit filed by churches in the small city of Mission,…
Southern Baptist leader resigns coalition supporting mosques
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (RNS) — Richard Land, head of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, has resigned from a new interfaith coalition, saying some fellow Southern Baptists felt it was inappropriate for him to support the building of…
U.S. Muslim population to double in 20 years
The U.S. Muslim population is expected to double over the next 20 years, fueled by immigration and higher-than-average fertility rates, according to a new report released Jan. 27. The authors of the report, “The Future of the Global Muslim Population”…
Ala. governor off to ‘rocky start’ with Jews, Muslims
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (RNS) — Jewish and Muslim groups want to know if they have a place in Alabama after Gov. Robert Bentley, just hours into office, said people who have not accepted Jesus as their savior are not his “brothers…
Liberty University’s seminary leads ranks of would-be chaplains
LYNCHBURG, Va. — According to Air Force data, no training program is more popular among prospective chaplains than Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary, part of the late Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va. One out of every five Air Force…
EDITORIAL: Panamanian partners and family
As I write, I am sitting on a wooden bench in a prayer garden in the shade of a huge guanacaste (enterolobium ciclocarpun) tree in Santa Clara, Panama. Strains of “Victory in Jesus” waft from the distant chapel on a…
HERITAGE: Climbing mountains
She called herself “a plain Jane.” She insisted — rightly and proudly so — that she was a housewife. True enough, she was devoted to her husband, “Greg,” and to her three sons — Harry, Gene and Joel. She did…
ASK THE ARCHITECT: Master plan criteria, part 2
Let’s look at more of those specific site-planning influences that your architect considers when developing a master plan. Last month we touched upon mission and program, demographics, zoning, context and future re-sale considerations. The list gets longer! • Vehicular access….
VITAL SIGNS: Asleep at church
A couple of years ago, we tried something radical on Wednesday evenings at our church. Over the course of five weeks, we had prayer meeting. This was not simply the hospital list prayer meeting — this was honest prayer. One…