LYNCHBURG, Va. (ABP) — Although Jerry Falwell did more than about anybody else to identify conservative evangelical Christians with the Republican Party in the last 30 years, top GOP leaders were notably absent at his May 22 funeral in Virginia….
Plan allows N.C. colleges to elect trustees but give up funding
ASHEBORO, N.C. (ABP) — The five colleges affiliated with the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina would be able to elect their own trustees under a plan adopted by the convention's board of directors, but the schools will lose the…
No Rio Grande lawsuits planned; too costly and complex, lawyer says
DALLAS (ABP) — The Baptist General Convention of Texas will not file lawsuits to recover church-starting money mismanaged in the Rio Grande Valley. Civil litigation would be costly and complex, and the statute of limitations could prevent recovery of a…
Latest Senate immigration proposal long shot but needed, ethicist says
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Although it may face an uphill battle in Congress, some Christian leaders are saying the Senate's latest immigration-reform proposal is better than nothing. The legislation passed an initial test May 21 when the Senate voted to consider…
Drake won’t repeat as SBC 2nd VP but won’t rule out higher office
BUENA PARK, Calif. (ABP) — Wiley Drake, the Los Angeles-area pastor, radio crusader and Southern Baptist Convention gadfly, has announced he will not allow himself to be nominated for a second term as second vice president of the convention. The…
Vietnam vets organizing reunion of former Saigon Baptist church
HIDEAWAY, Texas (ABP) — Baptist churches, sometimes known for holding endless committee meetings and forming factions pitted against each other for slight offences, could learn a thing or two from Trinity Baptist Church of the former Saigon, Vietnam. According to…
Missouri pastor named director of ministerial excellence at CBF
ATLANTA — Steve Graham, pastor of Second Baptist Church in Liberty, Mo., has been named director of ministerial excellence for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. He will assume the new role in June. The initiative for ministerial excellence is funded by…
Huckabee cancels Covenant speech over Jimmy Carter’s criticism of Bush
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (ABP) — Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee has cancelled plans to speak at the New Baptist Covenant Celebration next January because of organizer Jimmy Carter's recent criticism of President Bush. Carter criticized Bush's foreign policy in a…
Missouri conservatives organize against their former movement
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (ABP) — Eleven ministers who supported conservatives' efforts to take control of the Missouri Baptist Convention now say that the people they put in power have taken conservatism too far. The group voiced its concerns publicly in…
Updated: Carter meets with SBC bloggers, who welcome gesture
ATLANTA (ABP) — Some of the Southern Baptist Convention's most prominent bloggers reacted positively to a summit they held with former President Jimmy Carter May 17 in Atlanta. Carter and the leaders discussed building a broad range of Baptist support…
European conservatives: Poland pivotal in battle against ‘anti-family’ forces
WARSAW (ABP) — Poland is one of the few European countries to maintain traditionalist Catholic stances in the international debate over social issues like abortion, gay marriage and embryonic stem-cell research. That's one reason why leaders of the World Congress…
Carter meets with SBC bloggers to discuss 2008 convocation
ATLANTA (ABP) — Former President Jimmy Carter met with several well-known Southern Baptist bloggers May 17 in Atlanta to solicit support for an unprecedented gathering of Baptists in North America. Carter, perhaps the world's most prominent Baptist layman, invited the…