Religious Herald | News and Resources for Mid-Atlantic Baptists | A New Voice Media Group Partner
     
 
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
Home
Numbers
WMUV Lines
Caring Times
Lutherans, Catholics bury the hatchet

Lutherans, Catholics bury the hatchet

Lutherans and Catholics have pledged to set aside centuries of hostility and prejudice to celebrate together the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation in 2017.

Do Baptist annual meetings have a future?

Do Baptist annual meetings have a future?

’Tis the season for Baptist annual meetings. But will declining numbers, the expense of gathering people for face-to-face encounters and rapid advances in technology soon mean the demise of the rite?

Occult obsession now a folk religion, say some

Occult obsession now a folk religion, say some

As vacationers pack their beach bags with teen paranormal romances and movie-goers await "World War Z," what are Christians to make of this fascination with vampires, zombies, werewolves and witchcraft?

Study suggests WW II experiences led veterans to church

Study suggests WW II experiences led veterans to church

A new study with implications for clergy and counselors has found that American veterans who had a negative experience serving during World War II attend church more frequently today than those who were less troubled by their service.

 
John Leland Center graduates second largest class in its history
By Special to the Herald   
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
The John Leland Center for Theological Studies has graduated the second largest class in its history. Nine students earned master’s degrees, nine others the diploma in theological studies and another 21 students received the Spanish certificate in ministry formation.
 
ANALYSIS: Some suggest unity at SBC meeting resulted from taking on cultural issues, not themselves
By Jeff Brumley   
Friday, June 14, 2013
Southern Baptists experienced little antagonism during their annual convention in Houston — a phenomenon that surprised some and delighted most SBC officials and messengers. There were plenty of opportunities for controversy. But none of that happened.
 
Leaders hope report on Calvinism will ease tensions between proponents and opponents in SBC
By Jeff Brumley   
Friday, June 14, 2013
Growing disagreements over the role of Calvinism will make the Southern Baptist Convention stronger, not weaker, as long as its focus remains on evangelism, members of an advisory team commissioned to study the topic told hundreds in Houston June 10.
 
SBC condemns Boy Scouts' decision on gays but stops short of boycott
By Bob Allen   
Friday, June 14, 2013
The Southern Baptist Convention stopped short of urging churches to sever ties with the Boy Scouts of America in a June 11 resolution expressing “continued opposition to and disappointment in the decision of the Boy Scouts of America to change its membership policy.”
 
SBC urges action on mental health, resolving to provide 'biblical counsel' for people with disorders
By Jeff Brumley   
Friday, June 14, 2013
Compared to Southern Baptist Convention resolutions on the Boy Scouts and sex abuse, the one urging churches to develop intentional ministries for the mentally ill got scant attention from local and national media. But it wasn’t overlooked by Ronnie Floyd.
 
Called the 'guy we need on the scene,' Fred Luter reelected convention president
By John Evans   
Friday, June 14, 2013
Fred Luter Jr., pastor of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans, was re-elected president of the SBC June 11. Mark A. Croston Sr., pastor of East End Baptist Church in Suffolk, Va., nominated Luter for the office, calling him “the kind of guy we need on the scene.”
 
HeraldBeat: Tracking Baptists across the Mid-Atlantic
By Barbara Francis   
Friday, June 14, 2013
Church news, staff moves and more
 
D.C. Baptist Convention churches will see change in representation on SBC governing boards
By Robert Dilday   
Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Churches affiliated with the District of Columbia Baptist Convention will see diminished representation on the governing boards of Southern Baptist Convention agencies and institutions, following a June 11 vote. At its annual meeting in Houston, the SBC adopted a recommendation to designate D.C., Maryland and Delaware as a “defined territory” to determine eligibility for representation on SBC committees and entity boards.

 
Baptist Joint Committee names new communications chief
By Herald Staff   
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Cherilyn Crowe has been named director of communications for the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, succeeding Jeff Huett, who was named the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s associate coordinator of communications and advancement. Crowe joined the BJC staff in 2009 as associate director of communications after nearly a decade in television news.
 
Holiday travelers find welcome from churches at interstate rest stops
By Barbara Francis   
Monday, June 10, 2013
As travelers packed their bags and hit the interstates for their favorite getaway on Memorial Day, volunteers from churches in the Petersburg (Va.) Baptist Association were packing coolers, coffee pots and coloring books to greet visitors at four nearby rest areas.
 
National Baptist minister to lead black church studies at Duke Divinity School
By Herald Staff   
Monday, June 10, 2013
Eboni Marshall Turman, an ordained minister in the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc, has been named director of Duke Divinity School’s office of black church studies and assistant research professor of black church studies. Marshall Turman served as an assistant minister of Abyssinian Baptist Church in New York City for 10 years and has taught at two other seminaries.
 
Churches leave their mark on Habitat homes, even when they're not actually on site
By Barbara Francis   
Monday, June 10, 2013
When volunteers for Habitat for Humanity are working at build sites, they often use markers to write words of encouragement on 2x4s while the house is under construction, according to Cristi Lawton, development director for Habitat for Humanity in Hanover County, Va.
 
With new partnerships, Bluefield College aims to better equip ministry leaders
By Chris Shoemaker   
Friday, June 07, 2013
Bluefield College is partnering with the Christian Leaders Link and the Network for Theological Education to offer programs which train and better equip ministers and laypersons for more effective ministry and leadership in churches and communities.
 

PERSPECTIVE 


ANDREW GARDNER
Learning from individual and social salvation




MICHAEL PARNELL
Forget the 'Christian' tag



JONATHAN WAITS
The Scouts have angered all sides


JIM WHITE
For the CBF and SBC, it's time to take separate journeys

BILL WILSON
An alternate future

JOHN CHANDLER
The new conversation

FRED ANDERSON
Pastors and parenting
 


 

• A more secular Europe, divided by the cross | New York Times, 6/17

• Egypt preacher spared jail for 'insulting' Christianity | AFP, 6/16

• SBC president says his church will stop hosting Boy Scouts after vote to accept openly gay scouts | Birmingham News, 6/15

• Texas governor signs 'Merry Christmas' law; says religious freedom is not freedom from religion | Washington Post, 6/14

• Christian faithful to debate role, influence in GOP; weak turnout at polls raises alarm | Washington Times, 6/12

• Charlotte Observer religion reporter arrested in Raleigh protest | Raleigh News & Observer, 6/10

• A decade later, Southern Baptists adapt to different political climate, culture, influence | Washington Post, 6/9

• Republican Party to step up outreach to evangelicals with hiring of Baptist | CNN, 6/8

• A biblical task: translating the Bible in the 21st century | BBC, 6/6

• Bible's strong comeback surprises secular Norway | ABC News, 6/6

More Herald Newswire ...


THE PACKAGE FROM NEW VOICE MEDIA 

Image



















As vacationers pack their beach bags with "teen paranormal romance" novels and movie-goers await World War Z, what are Christians to make of the fascination with vampires, zombies, werewolves and witchraft?

• Occult obsession not a passing phenomenon but a folk religion, say some experts

• America exporting new religion, Australian theologian insists

• Zombie apocalypse offers a secularized twist on Scripture, says educator


 
Copyright © 2007-2013 Religious Herald Publishing Association Inc., All Rights Reserved.