RICHMOND —Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond will hold classes in a new, still-to-be-determined location this fall, following action by its trustees March 18 to authorize President Ron Crawford to sign a leasing agreement to house the 21-year-old seminary. The trustee…
Upton to represent BWA at papal inauguration, as Italian Baptist leader urges prayer for new pope
RICHMOND — Baptist World Alliance president John Upton will represent the global organization and its 42 million Baptists at the March 19 inauguration of Pope Francis, the BWA has announced. “The BWA celebrates with the Catholic Church the announcement of…
Upton to represent BWA at papal inauguration, as Italian Baptist leader offers prayer for new pope
RICHMOND — Baptist World Alliance president John Upton will represent the global organization and its 42 million Baptists at the March 19 inauguration of Pope Francis, the BWA has announced. “The BWA celebrates with the Catholic Church the announcement of…
CBF of N.C. begins process to ‘discern’ future priorities, announces new annual mission offering
LUMBERTON, N.C. — The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina began preparations March 15-16 to celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2014, initiating a “discernment process” to set future priorities and announcing a new annual mission and ministry offering to be…
Ridgecrest pulls the plug on what might have been one of N.C.’s largest solar energy projects
RIDGECREST, N.C. — Ridgecrest Baptist Conference Center has withdrawn from a project that would have created one of North Carolina’s largest solar energy projects because of the amount of land required. Ridgecrest Baptist Conference Center is about 20 miles east…
N.C.’s Rowan County latest in Mid-Atlantic to grapple with sectarian prayers at official meetings
SALISBURY, N.C. — North Carolina’s Rowan County is the latest jurisdiction in the Mid-Atlantic to grapple with the role of sectarian prayers at official government meetings. The American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina filed a lawsuit against Rowan’s board…
Obama names Baptist church-state expert at Wake Forest divinity school to direct faith-based office
WASHINGTON — Melissa Rogers, a Baptist church-state expert on the faculty of Wake Forest University School of Divinity, has been named director of the White House’s Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Rogers, director of the Center for Religion and…
OUT LOUD
“We have stories about child molesters, murders and all kinds of vicious, barbaric acts of evil committed by heinous criminals on our front page, and yet we never receive a call from anyone saying ‘I don’t need my children reading…
Hampton church calls Betty Mills as pastor, making it largest congregation in Va. led by woman
HAMPTON, Va. — Richmond pastor Betty Mills has been called as senior pastor of the 222-year-old Hampton (Va.) Baptist Church, making it likely the largest Baptist congregation in Virginia led by a woman pastor. Betty Mills For 23 years, Mills…
Richmond association committee recommends retaining ties with church which ordained gay man
RICHMOND — The Richmond Baptist Association will consider a recommendation March 19 to retain ties to one of its churches which ordained an openly gay man to the ministry last year. The proposal from an RBA study committee, to be…
Bill in North Carolina Senate would permit elective Bible classes in public high schools
RALEIGH — Public high schools in North Carolina could offer elective Bible classes if a bill introduced in the state Senate Feb. 26 is adopted by the General Assembly. The bill by Republican Sen. Stan Bingham of Denton, N.C., would…
Mediation effort in Southside Virginia prayer lawsuit fails, returning case to district court
DANVILLE, Va. — Attempts to settle a legal conflict between a Southside Virginia county board of supervisors and the American Civil Liberties Union of Virginia over Christian prayers at the beginning of supervisors’ meetings apparently failed Feb. 21, according to…