Since some of the more conservative among us withdrew from the Baptist General Association of Virginia in 1996, the BGAV has given to the Southern Baptist Convention through designated and undesignated gifts more than $85 million. Yet, in that length…
Dan Vestal corrects claim that Fellowship is ‘unchristian’
Why would some Baptist writers seem to go out of their way to create the impression that the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship is not only not Baptist but not even Christian? This is what CBF executive coordinator, Daniel Vestal, is wondering…
Radical change: Are Southern Baptists ready for it?
Johnny Hunt's election as president of the Southern Baptist Convention came as no real surprise. Going in, most people assumed that he had a better chance than most of the other five candidates to emerge as the eventual winner. What…
FIRST PERSON: Alma Hunt — Just what the Lord made her
ROANOKE — A couple of hundred would-be mourners gathered at Rosalind Hills Baptist Church in Roanoke on Wednesday, June 18, to celebrate the distinguished life of Miss Alma Hunt at her funeral service. Because this faithful and energetic woman had…
EDITORIAL: How generous should orthodoxy be?
It was Brian McLaren who made popular with his book title the phrase “a generous orthodoxy.” In my mind, I have interpreted that to mean roughly the equivalent of Augustine's “In essentials, unity. In non-essentials, liberty. In all things, love.”…
EDITORIAL: May the better candidate win
I hesitate to say anything about the presidential race because my comments seem always to be construed as subtle endorsements of particular candidates. That's understandable I suppose. But since I don't even know yet who I'm going to vote for…
EDITORIAL: What’s behind the declining numbers?
I do not typically see myself as having a lot in common with Paige Patterson. I am sure he would agree. In truth, however, we are more theologically akin than we are different. We both believe that God created human…
Three Virginia Baptist churches investigate multi-site options
Your bank has several locations. So does your cleaners. And your grocery store. Why not your church? Three Virginia Baptist churches sent representatives to a multi-site conference in Dallas to discover whether this model might hold potential for them. In…
EDITORIAL: The changing church
The body of Christ never ceases to amaze me. Not that I have seen that much of its total representation in either time or space. My perspective is rather limited, in fact. Still, what I have seen amazes me. The…