NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) – After 166 years as the Southern Baptist Convention, the nation’s second-largest religious body could be getting a new name. SBC President Bryant Wright announced Sept. 19 the appointment of a committee to study whether it is…
Belief in active God & free market closely linked, survey reveals
WACO, Texas (ABP) — Americans who strongly believe God has a plan for their lives are most likely to believe God guides the United States through a free market — and they want to see the government get out of God’s…
Coalition asks Obama to clarify remarks on faith-based hiring
WASHINGTON (ABP) –Fifty-six groups, including the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, sent a sharply-worded letter Sept. 19 asking President Obama to clarify remarks he made this summer about employment discrimination by faith-based groups receiving taxpayer funding. While running for…
Court refuses to intervene in church dispute over elder rule
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (ABP) – An appeals court has refused to nullify a Florida Baptist church’s decision to switch from congregational to elder rule, saying courts can resolve disputes over church property but not matters of church governance. Several former members…
Suit challenges tax break for clergy
MADISON, Wis. (ABP) – A group of non-believers opposed to government preference and favoritism toward religion has filed a lawsuit seeking to have a federal law that allows clergy members tax breaks on living expenses declared unconstitutional. The Wisconsin-based Freedom…
South Carolina CBF hosting Brian McLaren
COLUMBIA, S.C. (ABP) – The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of South Carolina and Baptist studies program at Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary are sponsoring four sessions over two days with Brian McLaren, a popular author and leader in the “emergent” church. Brian…
Church building homes for victims of spring tornadoes
JACKSONVILLE, Ala. (ABP) – A Baptist church near the path of one of the tornadoes that swept across Alabama in April is halfway toward a goal of building 10 houses for people who lost homes and did not have insurance….
Violence taking toll on Syria’s Christians
FALLS CHURCH, Va. (ABP) – Many Christians have fled Syria as a result of public demonstrations and violent government crackdowns in the Middle Eastern country over the past several months, officials of the Baptist World Alliance reported Sept. 14. BWA…
Wake Forest endowed chair honors Baptist leaders
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (ABP) – Church history professor Bill J. Leonard has been named the first James and Marilyn Dunn Chair of Baptist Studies at the Wake Forest University School of Divinity, officials at the school in Winston-Salem, N.C., announced Sept….