ATLANTA (ABP) — In an effort to alleviate the stress missionary parents can feel in trying to finance a college education for their children, Mercer University has announced it will provide undergraduate tuition scholarships for children of Cooperative Baptist Fellowship…
Divorce a tragedy, time with loved ones important, Albom tells Dallas church
DALLAS (ABP) — Divorce is insidious, but time with loved ones is precious, author Mitch Albom told an audience as part of a Dallas church's lecture series Nov. 1. Divorce does terrible things to kids, he says, even when they…
Arkansans approve task force report, potential Baptist building move
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (ABP) — Messengers to the 153rd annual meeting of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention approved a ministry task force report that includes recommendations to regionalize Executive Board ministries, increase the percentage of Cooperative Program funds forwarded to…
UPDATE: Probe finds Texas church-starters got up to $1.3 million for bogus churches
DALLAS (ABP) — A five-month investigation uncovered evidence Baptist General Convention of Texas church-starting funds were misused between 1999 and 2005 in the Rio Grande Valley. At a called meeting of the BGCT Executive Board Oct. 31, investigators reported they…
Pastor named in Rio Grande probe can’t substantiate lavish lifestyle
DALLAS (ABP) — Otto Arango's lavish lifestyle — living in an expensive home in an exclusive neighborhood and driving luxury cars — raised questions among some pastors in the Rio Grande Valley about the sources of his income. Their suspicions…
N.M. Baptists report record numbers, new translations at annual convention
CLOVIS, N.M. (ABP) — Perhaps more people attended the annual meeting of the Baptist Convention of New Mexico this year than any year since it was founded 94 years ago. The 2006 convention was the first since New Mexico Baptists…
BGCT leaders respond to evidence of mismanagement of funds
DALLAS (ABP) — An investigation that uncovered evidence of mismanagement and misuse of Texas Baptist church-starting funds in the Rio Grande Valley presents major challenges for the Baptist General Convention of Texas — and especially Executive Director Charles Wade, some…
Mississippi Baptists approve record Cooperative Program budget
JACKSON, Miss. (ABP) — Messengers from the Mississippi Baptist Convention's 2,114 churches approved without opposition a record Cooperative Program budget of more than $33 million during their annual meeting Oct. 31-Nov. 1. The $33,188,934-budget for 2007 represents an almost six-percent…
Global Women urged to demonstrate ‘strategic savvy’ to expand impact
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (ABP) — “The world is changing, and we need to catch up a little bit,” Robbi Francovich of Austin, Texas, told members of Global Women at an interactive missions conference Oct. 27-28. Francovich, who has spent 10 years…
Muslim group decries Baptist leader’s claims about Islamic ‘takeover’ of U.S.
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (ABP) — Leaders from a prominent American Muslim group have denounced reported comments by the Missouri Baptist Convention's executive director claiming that “Islam has a strategic plan” to take over the United States. Ibrahim Hooper, communications director…
Missouri Baptist Convention ousts 19 churches over ties to moderates
CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (ABP) — The Missouri Baptist Convention voted Oct. 31 to oust 19 congregations — some of which have been part of the group since its beginning — because of their affiliations with moderate Baptist groups. The move…
Arkansas businessman, donor to moderate Baptists, dies
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (ABP) — John Heflin Jr., an Arkansas businessman and philanthropist, died Oct. 26. He was 61. Heflin, who died from cancer, was a major donor to Baptist causes, including the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Arkansas and Ouachita…