‘Keep me a hundred years, and you shall find a use for me.” In 1885 William H. Whitsitt penned this line on the inside front cover of his secret diary. The diarist painstakingly and neatly recorded his activities and his…
Finding an antidote to biblical dummies?
Did you hear the one about little Johnny’s Sunday school teacher talking to the boy’s father, a deacon? The teacher good-naturedly approached the dad in the church parking lot. “You’ll never believe what happened in Sunday school,” he began. “I…
Reconciliation, collaboration among Baptist Border Crossing themes
LIBERTY, Mo. (ABP) — Speakers challenged nearly 1,000 ministers and laypeople from several Baptist denominations and Midwestern states to become agents of reconciliation, collaboration and justice during the Baptist Border Crossing April 2-4 at Pleasant Valley Baptist Church in Liberty,…
Obama rounds out appointments to faith council; Dungy not on list
WASHINGTON (ABP) — The White House announced 10 new appointees April 6 to a diverse panel that will advise President Obama on issues related to government partnerships with religious and other community-service organizations. The appointments round out the Obama’s 25-member…
Top Army chaplain raises Jewish ire with call for fasting during Passover
WASHINGTON (ABP) — The Army's chief of chaplains is being criticized for a proclamation calling for prayer and fasting on April 8, which coincides with the first night of Passover. The Jewish holiday — one of the faith's most important…
Opinion: God wrote a book — How the Bible was made
(ABP) — My first Bible was a red King James Version New Testament given to me by the Gideons when I was in the fifth grade. I took it home and read its first words: “The book of the generation…
Train up a child: It takes parents and churches working together
DALLAS (ABP) — Parents must take the lead in guiding children to love and learn the Bible, but the church should help, according to specialists in children’s ministry. The process begins at birth, directing children toward God long before they…
For the Bible tells me so
RICHMOND, Va. (ABP) — Last year, sacred music composer Christopher Teichler noted a disturbing paradox. The widely observed decline in biblical literacy among American Christians has paralleled a growing interest in developing new and enriched ways of worshipping. Some ministers…
Author seeks to offer ‘eyewitness’ account of Christ’s life
KELLER, Texas (ABP) — More than a dozen years ago, computer programmer Frank Ball became consumed with a passion — to tell the story of Jesus in a compelling way for a contemporary audience. “Just tell the story first. It…
Iowa Supreme Court says state cannot deny marriage to gays
DES MOINES, Iowa (ABP) — Iowa will soon join the ranks of states that allow same-sex marriage, thanks to a unanimous April 3 ruling by the state’s highest court. The Iowa Supreme Court said a law limiting marriage to heterosexual…
Church-state group opposes state funds going to Baptist school
WASHINGTON (ABP) — A church-state watchdog group says the Kentucky Supreme Court should strike down a $10 million state appropriation to build a pharmacy school at Baptist-owned University of the Cumberlands, claiming it uses taxpayer funds to advance a particular…
Church-state group opposes state funds going to Baptist school
WASHINGTON (ABP) — A church-state watchdog group says the Kentucky Supreme Court should strike down a $10 million state appropriation to build a pharmacy school at Baptist-owned University of the Cumberlands, claiming it uses taxpayer funds to advance a particular…