HONOLULU — As many as 1,000 people who had registered for the Baptist World Alliance’s Congress this year were unable to attend because they were denied visas by the U.S. government, leaders of the global Baptist organization said July 28….
UVA administrator elected president of Virginia Intermont College
BRISTOL, Va. — An administrator with more than 30 years of experience in higher education will become the next president of Virginia Intermont College, trustees of the Virginia Baptist-affiliated school announced July 21. E. Clorisa Phillips, 54, currently associate provost…
Church-state lines can blur when disasters strike
RICHMOND, Va. (ABP) — Responding to disasters with immediate and long-term assistance has become a well-established practice of American religious groups — including Baptists, who frequently are almost as visible following devastating earthquakes and hurricanes as the Federal Emergency Management…
SBC approves task force recommendations, elects Wright as president
ORLANDO, Fla. — The much debated recommendations of the Great Commission Resurgence task force won easy approval June 15 from messengers attending the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention, but only after the report was amended twice to strengthen…
Virginia governor lifts ban on police chaplains’ sectarian prayers
RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell has lifted a two-year-old ban on sectarian prayers –including those referring to Jesus Christ — led by Virginia State Police chaplains at department-sanctioned public events. The recently-elected Republican governor instructed state police superintendent…
Glenn Beck, Paige Patterson to speak at Liberty’s commencement
LYNCHBURG, Va. — Two prominent conservative voices in the nation’s culture wars — Fox News commentator Glenn Beck and seminary president Paige Patterson — will speak at Liberty University’s commencement exercises May 15, the school has announced. Chancellor Jerry Falwell…
Haitian projects developing as Va. Baptists and overseas partners meet
RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia Baptist mission leaders are developing projects in earthquake-devastated Haiti which they hope will lead to long-term relationships on the island and to self-sustaining operations. That was the assessment of Dean Miller, Virginia missions coordinator for the…
Churches try varied ways to approach question of membership and baptism
Baptism and local church membership have been inextricably linked historically in the minds of many Baptists. But that view is shifting as a decline in denominational loyalty and the easy movement of American Christians among churches of all stripes have…
Gospel is both local and viral, say contributors to newly-released book
RICHMOND, Va. — The gospel is universal but it takes new shapes in new settings — and spreads in ways that can only be called “viral.” That’s the assessment of a just-released book featuring the insights of 50 youngish leaders…