NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) — A founder of Associated Baptist Press recounted the organization’s history Oct. 21 as an effort to maintain a free press in Baptist life. Events in North Carolina earlier in the same day served as a reminder that freedom in…
Pigskin pilgrimage
AUBURN, Ala. (RNS) — Chad Gibbs has been on a pigskin pilgrimage throughout the South, searching for spiritual truth in Tuscaloosa, Baton Rouge, Gainesville and Fayetteville. He grew up a fan of the Alabama Crimson Tide and switched allegiance to…
An interview with Jon Acuff
Jon Acuff is the author of the satirical blog Stuff Christians Like and a book by the same title published by Zondervan. In about two years, Acuff has taken a start-up blog from obscurity to more than 1.5 million readers,…
Bible study asks, ‘WWAD’
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (RNS) — Say a group of immigrants wants to build a mosque in Mayberry, right next to All Saints Church. WWAD: What Would Andy Do? The question, of course, never surfaced in the beloved “Andy Griffith Show” that…
Into the neighborhood
BERRYVILLE, Va. — Berryville Baptist Church participated in Operation Inasmuch recently as 101 members went into the community to help others and make friends. Pastor Dan Stanley offers a bottle of water to a motorist during Operation Inasmuch. “Sometimes actions speak…
On mission in South Africa
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — My wife, Cary, and I travelled with a group of 25 from Virginia to South Africa during the FIFA World Cup with a mission to spread the gospel of Christ into the rural villages of South…
Are the devout less stressed?
TORONTO (RNS) — Religion may provide a “buffer” allowing the devout to feel less anxiety when they make mistakes, compared with nonbelievers, according to new scientific research. Researchers at the University of Toronto measured “error-related negativity” — people’s defensive response…
Duvall on film and faith
THE PLAINS, Va. (RNS) — Amid the rolling hills of Northern Virginia, actor Robert Duvall lives in a rural hamlet not unlike the on-screen settings where he has immersed himself in Southern culture. It is, his wife says, “the last…
World’s Baptists responding to Pakistani flood
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Baptist groups in North America and Europe are donating money to assist flood victims in Pakistan. Baptist World Aid, the relief-and-development arm of the Baptist World Alliance, granted an initial $10,000 to meet medical, food and shelter…
Teen makes dreams come true for Kentucky girls
MADISON HEIGHTS, Va. — Jaime Fitzgerald, a recent graduate of Amherst County High School and a member of Randolph Memorial Baptist Church in Madison Heights, realized many of the girls in the Appalachian town of Manchester, Ky., would be unable…
Richmond churches tackle jobs at Bluefield
BLUEFIELD, Va. — Black enamel paint and a team of 31 inexperienced youth with paintbrushes were an interesting combination as three Richmond-area churches partnered for a week of service at Bluefield College in July. The team after an afternoon outing…
MC2 combines Bible study, mission action
LYNCHBURG, Va. — For the more than 400 people attending the MC2 conference July 19-24, the question, “What was your favorite part?” sparked a variety of responses. Painting houses gave MC2 participants opportunities to share their faith. An 8-year-old responded,…