MINNEAPOLIS (ABP) — Clad in faded jeans, paisley shirt, and sandals, Doug Pagitt doesn't look much like a preacher. But Pagitt, 30-something pastor of Solomon's Porch in Minneapolis, is on the vanguard of an effort to help today's emerging, largely…
Complaint filed with attorney general over exclusion of N.C. church
RALEIGH, N.C. (ABP) — A Rocky Mount pastor has filed a formal complaint with the North Carolina Attorney General charging the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina with violating its constitution by expelling a church over the issue of homosexuality….
Academy employee charged with molesting student
SAN MARCOS, Texas (ABP) — An employee of San Marcos Baptist Academy has been dismissed and subsequently arrested on charges of molesting a 17-year-old academy student. Santiago “Jimmy” Morales Jr., 25, has been charged with “improper relationship between an educator…
Students stick to prayer at start of school day
DALLAS (ABP) — Some schoolchildren may use daily classroom moments of silence to pray for all “As.” Now a Dallas church has created a cheat sheet to help them do it. Last year, the Texas legislature mandated a moment of…
Small Texas church loses tax exemption for buildings
KINGSVILLE, Texas (ABP) — A small South Texas church could owe up to $10,000 in back taxes on two church-owned properties unless a county authority restores the facilities' tax-exempt status. Kleburg County Tax Assessor Tina Flores removed the property tax…
Mars Hill student strips, longtime professor quits
MARS HILL, N.C. (ABP) — A longtime professor at Mars Hill College is leaving the Baptist-affiliated school after a student took off his clothes in class. The professor called Mars Hill President Dan Lunsford on the evening of Feb. 12…
New Orleans Seminary delays SBC effort to consolidate control
NASHVILLE (ABP) — New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, the lone holdout in a lengthy SBC attempt to gain stronger control over its entities, is under increasing pressure to change its charter to make the SBC the “sole member” of its…
New York Baptist leader Quinn Pugh dead at 74
STATESBORO, Ga. (ABP) — R. Quinn Pugh Sr., who served as executive director of the Baptist Convention of New York for 12 years before retiring in 1996, died Feb. 13 following heart surgery at a Savannah, Ga., hospital. He was…
Defining identity, purpose helped congregation work through conflict
COPPELL, Texas (ABP) — Valley Ranch Baptist Church seemingly had all the ingredients for expansion in a growing suburb of Dallas. Young families drove church growth. The congregation owned its land and facilities. More people were coming. Excitement and energy…
Southern Baptists gearing up to get out the vote, promote values
NASHVILLE (ABP) — Southern Baptists should get involved in the political process, and the SBC will assist them by developing a campaign and promoting it through a new website called ivotevalues.com, Richard Land told the SBC Executive Committee Feb. 16….
SBC Executive Committee OKs plan to leave BWA, form global network
— Editor's note: This story updates one issued Feb. 17. A photo is available from Associated Baptist Press. NASHVILLE (ABP) — Southern Baptist Convention leaders intent on severing ties with the Baptist World Alliance took a major step in that…
SBC president Jack Graham calls for Southern Baptist name change
NASHVILLE (ABP) — As “a network of churches that circle the planet,” the Southern Baptist Convention must consider changing its name to “reflect who we are and what we are doing nationally and internationally,” SBC president Jack Graham told the…