CBFVA News
Can We Stay Together? by Mark Snipes CBFVA Coordinator
I grew up in a small town in northwest Georgia. As a teenager, I went to church at a relatively large (for that area), conservative, Bapti-Costal Church where I was a faithful member. Though I am no longer in sync theologically with the church of my youth, I do...
How You Should Be Walking by Josh Hearne, Grace & Main Ministries
Derek is hard to describe, but I’ll try. The first time I met him, he wanted to know if I could “lay down a beat” for him to freestyle over. He had had an idea for a new rap while walking to the meal in our home and was ready to try it out. Derek has a way of entering...
Student.Church Reflection By Houston Blake, Summer Intern
When I was sixteen years old, I prayed the scariest prayer and told God, “Here I am. Send me.” Little did I know all the things that prayer would bring. From joining the Army straight out of high school to preaching my first sermon and interning during a pandemic, I...
Blog – CBFVA Resource for the Post-Pandemic Church by Terry Maples, CBFVA Coordinator
I think most people engaged in congregational leadership know we are NOT going back to church as it was before the pandemic. That version of church doesn’t exist anymore. A protracted COVID-19 season of disruption invites us to re-imagine church—not in order to...
Haven’t We Given Enough? Reflections on preparing for Lent by Rachel Jones
“Ash to ash. Dust to dust.”[1] Familiar sayings during this time of year as we enter Lent, the 40-day season (not including Sundays) between Ash Wednesday and the day before Easter. The word "Lent" comes from the Anglo-Saxon word "lencten", which means "lengthen" and...
What I am Learning about Poverty in Appalachia during our Pandemic by Keith Stillwell
Captain Obvious would say, “I am learning that people who did not have enough income to meet their basic needs before the pandemic, are facing even greater challenges during this pandemic.” Years in an economic system that employed many at low pay, benefited some...
Blog – Radical Candor by Terry Maples, CBFVA Coordinator
As an image-conscious Enneagram Pattern 3, I confess radical candor is not my best gift. My tendency to shape-shift to be what the context demands sometimes means I shy away from boldly speaking truth. My son knows my tendency to be and play nice. After reading...
Reflection: Pastors’ School 2021
Reflection by Kris Aaron, Senior Pastor, FBC Bristol On January 28, CBFVA held its annual Pastors’ School. The speaker, Dr. Anna Robbins, and the theme, Recalibrating Faith & Culture in a Post-Pandemic World, were both especially timely and helpful. Dr. Robbins...
Kingdom Work = “Soul” Work Megan Fullerton Strollo, CBFVA Theologian in Residence
I, like many of you I’m sure, tuned in this past Wednesday to watch the inauguration of now President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. An inauguration is an historic occasion any year, as our country progresses ever more toward becoming that “more perfect...