By Robert Dilday Central Virginia pastor Nancy Stanton McDaniel, who currently serves as the Baptist General Association of Virginia’s first vice president, will be nominated in November as BGAV president, it was confirmed Oct. 20. If elected, McDaniel, pastor of…
Pastor trades unconventional pulpit for traditional church — and a challenge
By Jeff Brumley Bob Ballance said he’s expecting the question from all quarters: why is he leaving his Colorado church popular with Millennials for one that’s more traditional in a small Virginia town? And he admits there will be some…
World’s restoration is focus of young adult gathering
By Blake Tommey In the field of social psychology, scholars have coined a technical term known as plausibility structure. Among those who seek to understand how people’s thoughts, feelings and behaviors are influenced by others, plausibility structure is essentially a…
Opening doors — front and back — to minister
By Blake Tommey At the Center for Faith and Leadership in Fredericksburg, Va., directors Carey and Gannon Sims have a familiar saying: “Our front door is open to the campus and our back door opens to the community.” And while…
Vote inaugurates far-reaching governance change for BGAV
By Robert Dilday A far-reaching shift in governance of the 191-year-old Baptist General Association of Virginia went into effect Nov. 12 when messengers at the group’s annual meeting adopted a set of constitutional and bylaw changes implementing a proposal adopted…
North Carolina’s Gardner-Webb University to partner with BGAV
By Robert Dilday North Carolina-based Gardner-Webb University has forged a new partnership with the Baptist General Association of Virginia following an Oct. 8 vote of approval by the Virginia Baptist Mission Board. The 4,600-student Baptist school in Boiling Springs will…
BGAV to consider reduced budget in 2015
By Robert Dilday The Baptist General Association of Virginia will consider a 2015 budget significantly lower than current funding levels when it gathers for its annual meeting next month. The BGAV budget committee will recommend a goal of $11.5 million…
Name changes challenge churches on Baptist identity
By Jeff Brumley Over the weekend, Virginia Heights Baptist Church in Roanoke, Va., plunged headlong into a continuing, decades-long trend in American Christianity by dropping the denominational reference from its name. So when Nelson Harris showed up for work Monday…
Circle of life: Denominational innovation may be wave of future
By Jeff Brumley The fact state and national religious bodies are undergoing significant changes — or at least need to change — hardly makes headlines anymore. But the changes already occurring give hints about where the development of religious organizations…
Virginia Baptist nominee’s election could break new ground
By Robert Dilday Virginia Baptist pastor Nancy Stanton McDaniel will be nominated in November for first vice president of the Baptist General Association of Virginia — a position whose incumbent for almost a decade and a half has been elected…
Pastor/farmer to take Baptists’ First Amendment commitments to Va. legislature
By Robert Dilday A pastor and cattle farmer in rural Southside Virginia has been tapped to advocate in the state’s legislature for First Amendment issues on behalf of the Baptist General Association of Virginia’s religious liberty committee — the first…
Air Force personnel cuts highlight importance of church in military life
By Jeff Brumley As if the tempo of military operations and deployments aren’t stressful enough, U.S. Air Force members were jolted by news this week the service will slash nearly 3,500 positions over five years. But that announcement — including that…