THE HAGUE, Netherlands (ABP) — In what would become the world’s first prosecution of a sitting head of state for crimes against humanity, the International Criminal Court’s head prosecutor is asking that Sudan’s leader be charged with genocide. Luis Moreno-Ocampo,…
Church observers ask: Where have all the good men gone?
DALLAS (ABP) – It’s not just your imagination. Men are disappearing from the church. According to the Barna Research Group, there are 11 million to 13 million more American women who are born again than there are born-again men. While…
ABC-USA proposes changes to focus on mission, churches
VALLEY FORGE, Pa. (ABP) — Leaders of the American Baptist Churches USA are proposing changes to the denomination’s governing structure that aim to encourage greater missional empowerment and broader involvement of affiliated churches. The ABC General Board considered the proposal…
Declaration responds to torture-policy shift
(ABP) — For years in foreign-policy circles, the United States was regarded as the world’s premier protector of individual liberty, promoter of democracy and champion of human rights. But terrorist attacks on U.S. soil on Sept. 11, 2001, created a…
Daniel Vestal counters BP column that said CBF not ‘truly Christian’
ATLANTA (ABP) — Why would some Baptist writers go out of their way to create the impression that the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship is not even Christian? CBF Executive Coordinator Daniel Vestal said he is trying to answer that question after…
John Templeton, religious philanthropist, dead at 95
NASSAU, Bahamas (ABP) — Sir John Marks Templeton, religious philanthropist and founder of an annual award that honors innovation in religion, died of pneumonia July 8 in Nassau, Bahamas. He was 95. Perhaps most widely known for the Templeton Prize…
Carson-Newman names Baylor Provost Randall O’Brien president
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. (ABP) — Veteran Baylor University professor and administrator Randall O’Brien has been named president of Carson-Newman College. Trustees of the Jefferson City, Tenn., school elected him July 8. O’Brien will assume full-time duties Jan. 1, 2009, after…
Economy may affect churches in ways other than giving
(ABP) — The bottoming markets, soaring gas and food prices and a steady stream of home foreclosures may be affecting other sectors of the economy, but that doesn’t mean church budgets will necessarily feel the pinch. But local congregations may…
Baptist student missionary killed in Peru bus accident
ST. LOUIS (ABP) — Southern Baptist student missionary Gregory Gomez IV died July 5 in a bus crash in Peru. The 22-year-old Gomez was serving as a short-term field worker with the Southern Baptist Convention’s International Mission Board. According to…
Helms, ultra-conservative icon, steeped in moderate Baptist life
RALEIGH, N.C. (ABP) — Jesse Helms, the Baptist former senator who battled communist oppression but backed right-wing dictators and opposed abortion while appealing to racist sentiment, was a polarizing figure who was lionized by some conservatives and vilified by many…
To support military families through divorce, a few tips
(ABP) — Col. Bob Page, command chaplain for the Air Force’s Air Combat Command, believes that, while the military branches have developed more programs and services for military families, support from churches and other non-governmental groups remains crucial. That support…
‘Dear Jane’ letters a problem for military spouses at home
(ABP) — Divorce — the word seemed to leap out of the e-mail from her soldier husband that Nancy (not her real name) had so eagerly opened. Discussions of divorce among military personnel generally conjure the idea of a…