STANDISH, Maine (ABP) — A 20-year-old Tennessee Baptist summer missionary was killed June 16 — and three other summer missionaries and their local Baptist supervisor were injured — in a car accident in Maine. Palmer Maphet Palmer Maphet of Mount…
Southern Baptists denounce Gulf oil spill, divorce, gay-rights proposals
ORLANDO, Fla. (ABP) – The Southern Baptist Convention denounced the Gulf of Mexico environmental calamity in a resolution June 16. “God has designed us with a dependence on the natural resources around us and has assigned us a dominion of…
Suburban Atlanta pastor Bryant Wright elected SBC president
ORLANDO, Fla. (ABP) — In a field crowded with successful pastors and marked by disagreement over the recommendations of a denominational task force, messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention's annual meeting required a run-off to elect as their new president…
Approval signals Southern Baptist concern for ‘lostness,’ task force says
ORLANDO, Fla. (ABP) — The Southern Baptist Convention has overwhelmingly reaffirmed its intention to spread the gospel throughout the nation and around the world, members of the SBC’s Great Commission Resurgence Task Force told reporters June 15. At least 75…
Southern Baptists rally around ‘Great Commission’
ORLANDO, Fla. (ABP) – The Southern Baptist Convention voted overwhelmingly June 15 to accept recommendations of a task force appointed last year to rally fragmented factions in the nation’s second-largest religious body around the “Great Commission,” Jesus’ command in the…
SBC overwhelmingly approves ‘Great Commission Resurgence’ report
ORLANDO (ABP) — The Southern Baptist Convention voted overwhelmingly June 15 to accept the recommendations of a task force appointed last year to rally fragmented factions in the denomination around the Great Commission, Jesus’ command in the Gospel of Matthew…
WMU elects new president, urges unhindered mission
ORLANDO (ABP) — Participants at the 122nd annual meeting of national Woman’s Missionary Union elected a new president and honored its outgoing president's five years of service and heard missions challenges June 13-14. Meeting just prior to the Southern Baptist…
Executive Committee elects president/CEO
ORLANDO, Fla. (ABP) – The Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention voted in executive session June 14 to elect former SBC President Frank Page as the organization’s next president and CEO, replacing Morris Chapman, who retires Sept. 30 after…
Executive Committee elects Frank Page president in closed session
ORLANDO, Fla. (ABP) – The Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention voted in a closed session June 14 to elect former SBC president Frank Page as the organization’s next president and CEO, replacing Morris Chapman, who retires Sept. 30…
Religious liberty in China improving, still room for progress, leaders say
DALLAS (ABP) — Religious liberty in China is expanding and the Chinese Christian community is growing, according to a leader of China's state-sanctioned church — but American observers continue to hope for more progress. Bao Jiayuan, associate general secretary of…
Louisiana Senate panel shelves guns-in-church bill
BATON ROUGE, La. (ABP) — A Louisiana Senate committee has shelved a controversial bill that would have allowed worshipers to carry concealed weapons inside churches, synagogues and other houses of worship. The state’s Senate Judiciary B Committee voted 3-0 June…
Former Rwandan Baptist pastor convicted of genocide
HELSINKI, Finland (ABP) – A Finnish court has sentenced a former Baptist pastor to life in prison for participating in Rwanda’s 1994 genocide, according to the British Broadcasting Corporation. Francois Bazaramba, 59, was a pastor of the Baptist church in…