(ABP) — If Facebook is any measure, Americans are emerging from the 2012 election season convinced the nation’s political and religious divisions are wider and more hostile than ever — and getting worse. But not Duke McCall, 98, the Baptist elder…
D.C., N.Y. churches and pastors hunker down for storm
(ABP) — Baptist churches and ministries in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast were hunkered down and anxious Oct. 29 to see what happens when Hurricane Sandy arrives. “There’s been a heightened sense of anxiety because we are sitting here waiting,” said Amy…
Fan or foe, children’s sermon here to stay
(ABP) — Judging from the absence of squirming and giggling, Holly Smith’s children’s sermon was quite the hit Sunday morning at Island View Baptist Church in Orange Park, Fla. Five little girls gathered on the steps leading to the pulpit…
Fan or foe, children’s sermon here to stay
TEASER: Critics say the sermons aren't really sermons and aren't really for kids; supporters say they are a way to include children in worship. (ABP) — Judging from the absence of squirming and giggling, Holly Smith’s children’s sermon was quite…
Baptist ministers see online community as mission field
Teaser: Baptist ministers see both functional and missional value to streaming services and offering online fellowship. (ABP) — Jim Somerville pastors a Baptist congregation in Virginia that, thanks to the Internet, includes people living in Austria, India and Slovakia. And…
Online community seen as mission field
(ABP) — Jim Somerville pastors a Baptist congregation in Virginia that, thanks to the Internet, includes people living in Austria, India and Slovakia. And now, he learned recently, some guy in Iowa. “He said ‘I tune in online and consider…
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…
MLB 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…
Pastors of racially-mixed congregations believe over time homogeneity will become the exception
ATLANTA (ABP) — Park Avenue Baptist Church in Atlanta is considered by some a hopeful sign that Sunday may soon no longer be the most segregated time in America. A dwindling, all white congregation eight years ago, the church is…