RICHMOND (ABP) — Henry V. Langford, a white Baptist preacher whose support for racial equality caused him to be blackballed by churches in the 1950s, died Oct. 7 at age 93. A memorial service is planned at 4 p.m., Sunday,…
LETTER: Autonomy, diversity no longer valued in BGAV
I have just read a news alert sent by the Religious Herald. The news alert was related to the Virginia Baptist Mission Board’s recent action related to Ginter Park Baptist Church in Richmond. In short, the action of the board…
LETTER: A perspective from one who has ‘left the fold’
Dear Virginia Baptists, It’s been a long time, but I think it is the right time for you to hear from one of your sons who has left the fold. Eleven years ago I stopped being a Baptist because I…
LETTER: Church dismissal reflects irrational fear
Whatever became of sin? I am talking about the simple sins found in most Baptist circles years ago: card playing, dancing, going to the picture show, cursing, and drinking alcohol. I guess that age is gone. No one seems to…
Virginia Baptist committee asks Richmond church to end affiliation after ordination of gay man
LYNCHBURG, Va. — A key committee has asked a Richmond congregation to withdraw its Baptist General Association of Virginia membership in the wake of the church’s Sept. 16 ordination to the ministry of an openly gay man. If Ginter Park…
VITAL SIGNS: Curbing an epidemic
There is a consistent theme in the conversations I have with clergy and laity alike about what frustrates or challenges them most. Without a doubt it is: Staff. Every pastor’s gathering in which we ask for issues that need attention…
Hurricane unexpectedly extends mission trip but team takes it in stride, using the time to minister
MECHANICSVILLE, Va. — As a team from Cool Spring Baptist Church in Mechanicsville, Va., prepared to leave for a five-day mission trip to Haiti on Aug. 22, some people were asking, “Isn’t there a hurricane headed that way?” Glen Bohannon,…
‘Mock dock’ service points to ministry success in reaching boaters on summer Sundays on river
HENRICO, Va. — Bill Korman is a high energy, let’s-get-it-done Richmond businessman and a deacon of Poplar Springs Baptist Church in Henrico, Va. He is also the driving force behind a unique outreach ministry aimed at boaters who spend their…
Virginia minister takes helm of new curriculum provider
WAYNESBORO, Va. — Dale Tadlock, an associate pastor at First Baptist Church in Waynesboro, Va., has been named coordinator of a new provider of curriculum resources developed by Passport Inc., a Birmingham, Ala.-based student ministry. Tadlock will become head of…
National League game was ‘win-win’ for Georgia church
DALTON, Ga. (ABP) — The leadership of First Baptist Church in Dalton, Ga., expected no congregational split Oct. 6, regardless of which side prevailed when the local favorite Atlanta Braves took on the St. Louis Cardinals in a do-or-die game…
Baptist Joint Committee’s new center called a ‘leap forward’ in advancing religious liberty
WASHINGTON — The Baptist Joint Committee’s newly-renovated Center for Religious Liberty will be a “great leap forward” in advancing the agency’s mission to defend and extend religious liberty, its executive director said during an Oct. 1 reception to unveil the…
Bluefield College to launch dental school in bid to improve oral care in Appalachia
BLUEFIELD, Va. — Bluefield College has announced plans to launch a dental school, which it hopes will impact Appalachian communities underserved by oral care providers. When classes begin in the fall of 2015, the school will be one of only…