BATON ROUGE, La. (ABP) — Louisiana will join six other states that allow people to carry concealed handguns to church, thanks to a bill that Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) has signed. Bobby Jindal (U.S. Congress photo) His office announced late…
’20/20′ airs update on pastor convicted of murder
NEW YORK (ABP) — ABC's primetime news magazine "20/20" program aired an updated story July 9 about a former Baptist pastor from Texas convicted of murdering his wife and trying to make it look like a suicide July 9. The segment…
’20/20′ to air update on pastor convicted of murder
NEW YORK (ABP) — ABC's primetime news magazine "20/20" program is airing an updated story July 9 about a former Baptist pastor from Texas convicted of murdering his wife and trying to make it look like a suicide. The program…
Comprehensive immigration reform boasts broad array of Baptist backers
WASHINGTON (ABP) — As the immigration debate is re-stoked by legislation before Congress and the controversial anti-illegal-immigrant law Arizona recently passed, an unusually broad array of Baptist leaders and groups is backing comprehensive immigration reform. President Obama delivers a July…
Invitation strikes sour note for Christian music festival
OSHKOSH, Wis. (ABP) — A five-day Christian music festival that kicked off July 7 in Wisconsin is being criticized for inviting progressive evangelical activist Jim Wallis to speak. At least one sponsor has pulled out of Lifest — an annual…
Jim Wallis invitation stirs controversy for Christian music festival
OSHKOSH, Wis. (ABP) — The organizers of a five-day Christian music festival that kicks off July 7 in Wisconsin are being criticized by some conservatives for inviting progressive evangelical activist Jim Wallis to speak. Jim Wallis At least one sponsor…
Liberty and Justice: Church-state lines can blur when disasters strike
RICHMOND, Va. (ABP) — Responding to disasters with immediate and long-term assistance has become a well-established practice of American religious groups — including Baptists, who frequently are almost as visible following devastating earthquakes and hurricanes as the Federal Emergency Management…
Liberty and Justice: What is the future of U.S. religious liberty?
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Since colonial days, each new generation of Americans has had to face new challenges to religious freedom. From dissenters like Roger Williams fighting established state churches to perceived threats to the Protestant establishment posed by Catholic immigration…
Liberty and Justice: Churches, ministries and employment law
WASHINGTON (ABP) — One characteristic of the robust religious freedom Americans enjoy is that the government doesn’t control the church nor the church the government. But that doesn’t mean churches are lawless zones. While houses of worship and other nonprofit…
Liberty and Justice: When church-state separation and social justice conflict
DALLAS (ABP) — Religious liberty is a Baptist birthright, and one of the tradition’s most distinctive principles. But challenges to maintaining religious liberty come from all directions — including the dilemma of whether Baptist social-service agencies should accept government funds…
Texas Hispanic Baptists celebrate century of history, look to future
SAN ANTONIO (ABP) — Participants at the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas annual meeting June 27-29 remembered how God has been faithful in working through the body for a century, celebrated how he continues to use it today and anticipated…
Under questioning, Kagan sheds little light on church-state views
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan’s questioning before the Senate Judiciary Committee wound down July 1, a day after she faced the only direct questions regarding religious freedom she received during her three-plus days of testimony before the…