FALLS CHURCH, Va. (ABP) – The Baptist World Alliance has sent emergency funds of more than $12,000 to help counter a recent cholera outbreak in Haiti. The funds are earmarked through Baptist World Aid, the BWA’s relief-and-development arm. They will be…
Judge rules against Alabama Baptists in property-use dispute
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (ABP) – A judge has blocked development of property owned by Alabama Baptists, finding that an agreement allowing a neighboring homeowners' association to sign off on any site plan is still in force. That Alabama Baptist State Convention…
Pastor calls for church unity following arrest of associate pastor
GREENWOOD, S.C. (ABP) — A Southern Baptist pastor in South Carolina urged his congregation not to rush to judgment following the Oct. 26 arrest of its associate pastor/minister of music on charges of committing a lewd act upon a 13-year-old…
California appeals court strikes down Wiley Drake’s ‘birther’ case
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (ABP) — A state appellate court in California has dismissed a lawsuit filed by plaintiffs including a former Southern Baptist Convention officer claiming that Barack Obama is not a natural-born citizen of the United States and therefore is…
Missouri Baptists change college’s name
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (ABP) — The Missouri Baptist Convention renamed Hannibal-LaGrange College Oct. 26 to Hannibal-LaGrange University after alumni campaigned to retain the "LaGrange" part of the moniker. Messengers to the convention's annual meeting, gathering in Springfield, voted 593-360 to amend a motion…
Va. Baptists commission pamphlet defending church-state separation
RICHMOND, Va. (ABP) — The Virginia Baptist Mission Board has approved a “2010 History Project” to publish a document to correct “certain influential versions of American history [which] … mistakenly minimize or deny the grounding in this nation’s history of the…
Affinity document could guide BGAV’s future
RICHMOND, Va. (ABP) — A document to be considered at next month’s annual meeting of the Baptist General Association of Virginia could provide a guide for expansion of the association's ministry, if adopted by messengers. A proposal from an affinity…
Author, pastor: Old models of church don’t work anymore
WILMINGTON, N.C. (ABP) — Old models of church that view it as a center for multiple programs led by a pastor who shepherds a flock just don’t work in the post-Christendom era, according to an author and pastor. Ronny Russell,…
Unusual prayer meeting proves ministry catalyst for N.C. church
WILMINGTON, N.C. (ABP) — A prayer meeting hosted by a non-church member and featuring speaking in tongues, anointing with oil and the blowing of a ram’s horn might not seem like the typical turning point in the history of a…