ATLANTA (ABP) — A miniature preaching festival within next year's Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant will feature one of the nation's most famous preachers among a group that is broadly diverse in terms of ethnic background, gender, denominational affiliation…
Baptist man provides pastoral care to HIV/AIDS community in New York
NEW YORK — On Dec. 1, churches across the country will observe World AIDS Day by remembering those infected and affected by AIDS. But in the mid-1980s, AIDS had yet to take center stage in the American consciousness. That's when…
Experts: Stem-cell breakthrough may not end short-term debate
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Although religious conservatives have cheered the Nov. 20 announcement of a breakthrough in stem-cell research, the moral controversy over the practice may not end any time soon. The announcement — made by independent teams of scientists working…
President of Oral Roberts University resigns amid misspending allegations
TULSA, Okla. (ABP) — Just days after Richard Roberts resigned from his position as president of Oral Roberts University, regents there are scrambling to find someone else to fill the post. Roberts resigned Nov. 23 in a letter sent to…
Veteran Baptist journalist Roy Jennings dies at age 83
GERMANTOWN, Tenn. (ABP) — Veteran Southern Baptist journalist Roy Jennings died Nov. 22. He was 83. Jennings is best known in Southern Baptist circles for his work as news editor in the newsrooms at the annual meetings of the Southern…
Baptists give aid in Bangladesh as cyclone’s death toll rises
KANAINAGAR, Bangladesh (ABP) — Baptists joined an international relief effort in Bangladesh after a cyclone killed more than 3,400 people in the Ganges River delta along the Bay of Bengal. Baptist World Aid, the relief and development arm of the…
On 200th anniversary of slave trade, British Baptists apologize for slavery
SWANWICK, England (ABP) — Baptists in Britain have apologized for their role in the slave trade. The Council of the Baptist Union of Great Britain, observing the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade, passed an apology…
Opinion: Getting past reaction in shaping the Baptist future
One of the enduring tendencies in human life is reaction. Unhappy with the prevailing tendencies of a person or group we oppose, especially in situations of sharp conflict, we swing sharply in the other direction. Oftentimes when we do so…
Georgia Baptist resolution criticizes Baptist blogs
AUGUSTA, Ga. (ABP) — Georgia Baptists approved a record budget and a controversial resolution against blogging during their annual meeting Nov. 12-13. Gathering in Augusta, more than 1,400 messengers attended the Georgia Baptist Convention meeting, themed “Back to the Basics.”…
California Baptists adopt budget, reject bill related to Baptist Faith and Message
WEST SACRAMENTO, Calif. (ABP) — Messengers to the California Southern Baptist Convention's annual meeting Nov. 13-14 adopted an $11.6 million budget, turned down a constitutional amendment related to the Baptist Faith and Message and re-elected the body's president. “Connecting to…
State resolutions focus on alcohol, gambling, homosexuality, abuse
WASHINTON (ABP) — The pleasures of the flesh — specifically liquor and sex — were among the most popular subjects of resolutions passed by Southern Baptist-affiliated state conventions this fall. Although many state conventions avoided resolutions on controversial issues of…
Mississippi Baptists enjoy peaceful annual meeting
JACKSON, Miss. (ABP) — Messengers to the 2007 annual meeting of the Mississippi Baptist Convention elected a president by acclamation for the fifth year in a row and adopted a record budget Oct. 30-31. Meeting at First Baptist Church of…