GREENSBORO, N.C. (ABP) — Officials of the North Carolina Baptist State Convention say there's no way to know the potential impact of changing the convention's giving options to a single plan that forwards most of its national missions allocation to…
Supreme Court declines VMI dinner-prayers appeal
WASHINGTON (ABP) — The Supreme Court has declined to hear a challenge to a lower court's ruling that outlawed mealtime prayers at a state-run military college. The justices turned aside the appeal from Virginia officials April 26. Last year, a…
Virginia Baptists release portion of funds escrowed over homosexuality
RICHMOND, Va. (ABP) — Virginia Baptists will release to Averett University a portion of the funds they withheld last year in a dispute over biblical authority and homosexuality. But the remainder of the funds allocated in the current fiscal year…
SBC, interfaith group join to draw attention to uninsured
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Perhaps only a problem as daunting as the 40-plus million Americans lacking health insurance could bring together officials from groups as diverse as the Southern Baptist Convention, the National Council of Churches, and the Islamic Society of…
CBF missionaries increase reach of Afghan, Iranian churches in U.S.
ATLANTA (ABP) — A pair of Cooperative Baptist Fellowship missionaries are making sure that Afghans, Iranians and other Persian-speaking peoples have well-trained Christian leaders ready to return to their home countries and spread the gospel. As a way to help…
Missouri Baptist lawsuit re-filed; church funds may be used for battle
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (ABP) — Attorneys for the Missouri Baptist Convention have appealed the dismissal of a lawsuit against five breakaway institutions — and convention messengers will be asked to authorize the use of Cooperative Program funds to pay for…
Hunger on rise despite global goals, group says
WASHINGTON (ABP) — The number of hungry people in the United States and the developing world is greater now than it was when international leaders set hunger-cutting goals in the mid-1990s, said a recently released report by Bread for the…
Emotional pain drives some teens to self-mutilation, counselor says
DALLAS (ABP) — Why would teenagers cut their bodies on purpose? Cutting — and other forms of self-mutilation — cause physical pain that teens can deal with, blocking out emotional hurt they feel unable to handle, says Dallas counselor Carrie…
Counselor says some fears common among obsessive-compulsive teens
DALLAS (ABP) — Self-mutilation is not the only type of obsessive-compulsive disorder affecting youth, counselor Carrie Beaird told youth ministers at a recent seminar. The disorders can be as varied as the people afflicted, but they share some common traits….