By Bob Allen The White House announced proposed rules Aug. 5 from nine federal agencies clarifying rights and responsibilities of faith-based and community organizations receiving taxpayer funds. The proposals, which must pass through a 60-day period of public comment before…
Bush says he ‘misspoke’ at SBC event
By Bob Allen Jeb Bush’s presidential campaign quickly back-tracked from comments he made Tuesday at a Southern Baptist Convention missions conference that half a billion dollars of taxpayer money is too much to spend on women’s health issues. Democrats jumped…
SBC leader disappointed by Planned Parenthood vote
By Bob Allen The Southern Baptist Convention’s top public policy spokesman vowed to continue to seek defunding of Planned Parenthood after Senate Democrats blocked a proposal to redirect the $500 million a year in taxpayer funding that the women’s health…
Ky. Baptist children’s home hires CEO
By Bob Allen A Kentucky Baptist child care agency has hired a replacement for a CEO who resigned in December 2013 amid controversy prompted when he suggested a policy change to allow the hiring of gays. Directors of Sunrise Children’s…
Advocate for women ministers honored for lifetime achievement
By Bob Allen Pam Durso, executive director of Baptist Women in Ministry, accepted a lifetime achievement award from Christians for Biblical Equality July 25 in Los Angeles. Durso, who has led the Atlanta-based organization since 2009, was among nine individuals…
Youth pastor’s arrest affects two churches
By Bob Allen Two prominent Southern Baptist churches in Oklahoma are cooperating with police after the arrest of a youth pastor charged with sending inappropriate text messages to four boys at his former congregation. Police in Shawnee, Okla., arrested Brian…
Devotional website heading ‘Back2School’
By Bob Allen Students making the transition into a new grade, new school or even a new town can find spiritual guidance beginning Aug. 3 when Back2School returns to the devotional website d365.org. Writers for the six-week series are ministers from the Presbyterian…
SBC president declines to second-guess Glorieta sale
By Bob Allen Southern Baptist Convention President Ronnie Floyd has turned down an Arkansas couple’s request that he appoint a special committee to investigate whether LifeWay Christian Resources trustees acted improperly in the 2013 sale of Glorieta Conference Center for…
Confederate flags left at MLK’s home church
By Bob Allen The pastor of Atlanta’s historic Ebenezer Baptist Church called Thursday’s placement of four Confederate flags on the campus of the home church of Martin Luther King an act of hate and terrorism. “It is the kind of…
St. Louis mention in Planned Parenthood video riles Missouri abortion foes
By Bob Allen Southern Baptists in Missouri renewed calls for annual inspections at the state’s only abortion clinic after a controversial video exposé of Planned Parenthood mentioned St. Louis as a possible location to obtain fetal tissue. Susan Klein, legislative…
Pastor calls Planned Parenthood exposé ‘journalistic distortion’
By Bob Allen The pastor of a historic New York City church with Baptist ties says much of the recent brouhaha over abortion rights has to do with the fact that Planned Parenthood caters exclusively to women. “I think it’s…
SBC ethics head supports ‘First Amendment Defense Act’
By Bob Allen The Southern Baptist Convention’s top spokesman for moral and religious liberty concerns led 30 faith leaders and educators in an open letter urging Congress to pass a Republican-backed bill that would bar the government from penalizing individuals…