ATLANTA (ABP) — There are paths between science and theology, and both can find value in interaction, noted author and professor of science and theology Robert Russell told an audience at Mercer University's McAfee School of Theology Sept. 15. Robert…
Most religiously conservative states have highest teen birth rates
PHILADELPHIA (ABP) — Teenage birth rates tend to be higher in states that are more religiously conservative, possibly because communities in those places discourage contraception, according to a national study. An article in the open-access journal Reproductive Health reported a…
Rankin: Future of SBC missions includes focus on direct involvement
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (ABP) — Baptist congregations will increasingly take on more direct responsibility for international missions, freeing full-time missionaries to focus their energies in countries that restrict Christian evangelism, says the retiring executive of the Southern Baptist Convention’s International Mission…
British Baptists visit China with view to re-establishing Baptist work
DIDCOT, England (ABP) — More than a half-century after the last missionaries left the country, a delegation of British Baptists is visiting China to explore re-establishing work in the world's most populous nation. A team representing BMS World Mission and…
IMB President Jerry Rankin announces retirement plans
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (ABP) — Jerry Rankin, 67, has announced that he will retire next year after 17 years as president of the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. Rankin announced his plans to step down — at the…
Only 1 in 3 churches spiritually ‘vital,’ study says
HARTFORD, Conn. (ABP) — A congregation's health depends less on theology than methodology, according to a first look at an upcoming national study by Hartford Seminary's Institute for Religion Research. Faith Communities Today 2008, due out Oct. 15, paints an…
Uzbek Baptist head, two other leaders face 3-year prison term
TASHKENT, Uzbekistan (ABP) — The head of Uzbekistan's Baptist union and two colleagues face up to three years in prison on charges of tax evasion and teaching children about religion without permission from their parents — a crime in the…
UPDATED: Convicted felon loses bid to regain National Baptist presidency
(Editor's note: This story expands and updates a story originally published Sept. 9.) WASHINGTON (ABP) — Despite a highly publicized effort to regain the presidency of the nation's largest African-American Baptist denomination, disgraced pastor Henry Lyons overwhelmingly lost his election…
Fact and fiction on the abortion-reduction bill
By David Gushee, Joel Hunter, and Ronald Snider We are pro-life evangelical Christians with long records of ministry and scholarship in which we have stood up for the unborn and for a society in which every child is welcomed into…
Cecil Sherman receives ABP’s religious freedom award
RICHMOND, Va. (ABP) — Cecil Sherman, a pivotal figure in moderate Baptist life for the past half century, was formally recognized Sept. 10 for his fierce commitment to religious freedom as Associated Baptist Press presented him one of its top…
Baylor study: Clergy sexual misconduct with adults widespread
WACO, Texas (ABP) — In any given congregation with 400 adult members, seven women on average have been victims of clergy sexual misconduct since they turned 18, a new study reveals. “We knew anecdotally that clergy sexual misconduct with adults…
BGCT accesses $1 million from reserve funds
DALLAS (ABP) — The Baptist General Convention of Texas has decided to tap $1 million of its reserve funds to help support the organization’s ministry as the economy slowly begins to pull out of the recession, officials announced Sept. 14….