“On this I take my stand. I can do no other. God help me. Amen.” These are the words of Martin Luther at the Diet of Worms on April 18, 1521. On this date, Luther refused to recant his reformation…
VITAL SIGNS: The hardest issues we face
One of the most helpful insights I have gained in recent years for understanding the leadership culture of congregational life is the concept of managing polarities. Polarities are ongoing, chronic issues that are unavoidable and unsolvable. They are the hardest…
Baptist disaster response in hurricane-stricken Northeast likely to continue into December
Baptist disaster response teams from the Mid-Atlantic have prepared hundreds of thousands of meals in the Northeast, and relief organizers said they expect recovery operations to continue into December in the region hit hard by Hurricane Sandy. An expression of…
BGAV adopts $12.1 million budget for 2013, elects officers during annual meeting in Roanoke
ROANOKE — A proposed budget for Baptist General Association of Virginia ministries in 2013 which sparked wide-ranging debate for a month was adopted Nov. 14 without discussion or apparent opposition. The BGAV approved the $12.1 million budget and elected officers…
A Q&A with Carl Johnson, the Richmond layman who took the helm as the BGAV’s president Nov. 14
Richmond layman Carl Johnson was elected president of the Baptist General Association of Virginia Nov. 14 during its annual meeting in Roanoke. Johnson, a retired denominational financial officer and a member of First Baptist Church in Richmond, answered a range…
OPINION: The passion-filled church
What is my purpose? Why am I here? What is the meaning of my life? These are all ancient, lifelong questions that are never definitively answered. One season of self-discovery and affirmation often leads to others filled with doubt and…
Real polls and imaginary pipes
First, a joke: An Orthodox Jewish congregation was dedicating a new synagogue. The pews were packed as the rabbis processed in with the Torah scrolls held high. With great solemnity, they marched toward the ark where the Torah would be housed. …
Targeting malaria, Virginia Baptists plan prevention effort, new church initiative in Ghana
ROANOKE — Virginia Baptists aim to put a dent in the spread of malaria through a two-year project launched Nov. 13 to distribute 100,000 chemically-treated mosquito nets in Ghana, where the disease is the No. 1 cause of death. “More…
BGAV upholds committee action to dismiss church over ordination of openly-gay man
ROANOKE — The Baptist General Association of Virginia has upheld a committee’s decision to end the state association’s affiliation with a church which ordained an openly gay man to the ministry earlier this fall. In the opening session of its…