BESLAN, Russia (ABP) — At least a half-dozen children of Baptist leaders were killed when a hostage standoff in a Russian school ended violently Sept. 3, according to Baptist groups from the region. The two-day crisis in the southern town…
Georgia Supreme Court agrees to hear Shorter College appeal
ROME, Ga. (ABP) — The Georgia Supreme Court has agreed to hear Shorter College's appeal of a court's decision in favor of the Georgia Baptist Convention, according to the court clerk's office Sept. 14. A state appeals court ruled March…
SBC statesman Adrian Rogers to retire from pastorate
CORDOVA, Tenn. (ABP) — Adrian Rogers, prominent pastor and leader of Southern Baptist conservatives, announced he will retire in six months from the church he has led for 32 years. Rogers, pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Cordova, Tenn. a…
Survey indicates Americans support religious freedom but not separation
WASHINGTON (ABP) — A new nationwide survey suggests that Americans love religious freedom but are less avid about the separation of church and state. The Virginia-based Council for America's First Freedom commissioned the survey, which was taken in early August….
SBC’s TV network cuts budget in half, lays off 19
FORT WORTH, Texas (ABP) — Nineteen employees of the Southern Baptist broadcasting network learned Sept. 9 their jobs were eliminated as part of a major cost-cutting move that reduces the FamilyNet annual operating budget more than half — from $8.5…
Belmont University wants to elect own trustees, including non-Baptists
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) — Belmont University trustees have given leaders of the Tennessee Baptist Convention a proposed covenant that would take away the convention's current responsibility of electing trustees for the university. Belmont President Robert Fisher presented the proposal to…
Bush businesslike, ‘mainstream’ in handling of faith, insiders say
WASHINGTON (ABP) — While many of President Bush's opponents and critics alike have pointed to his evangelical Christian faith as his defining characteristic, several intimately acquainted with Bush recently told a gathering of journalists the president considers himself in the…
At the intersection of two hurricanes, Lake Wales ponders God’s ways
LAKE WALES, Fla. (ABP) — You could forgive residents of Lake Wales if they feel persecuted, having endured two powerful hurricanes in three weeks' time. The tiny town in Central Florida bears a dubious geographical distinction — where the path…
Palm Beach Atlantic waterlogged as a result of Hurricane Frances
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (ABP) — Most every building on the campus of Palm Beach Atlantic University sustained water damage and one dormitory might be unsalvageable as a result of Hurricane Frances, according to one faculty member. Located in a…