By Bob Allen For every American who joins a Baptist church, two others who were raised Baptist are leaving the denomination, according to a Pew Center Report released May 12. The report, America’s Changing Religious Landscape, found nearly one in five (19.2…
Former Baptist leader Winfred Moore dies
By Bob Allen Two-time failed Southern Baptist Convention presidential candidate Winfred Moore — a Texas pastor who ran on a centrist platform aimed at depoliticizing the denomination in the 1980s — died May 8 in Amarillo, Texas. He was 95. Moore, pastor…
Religious groups vow to break D.C. anti-discrimination law
By Bob Allen Anti-abortion groups with offices in Washington, D.C., — including the Southern Baptist Convention’s public-policy arm — have vowed to defy a new city ordinance barring discriminating against women based on their reproductive health choices. Hours after the U.S. Senate…
Evidence released against Baptist minister charged with murder
By Bob Allen A Baptist minister’s wife murdered in her Alabama home in July 2013 knew about her husband’s secret homosexual orientation and romantic relationships with out-of-state paramours, according to a court document filed May 6. Prosecutors also claim Richard…
Critics say National Day of Prayer divides Americans by faith
By Bob Allen Today’s National Day of Prayer is a constitutionally suspect government endorsement of religion that ought to be abandoned, according to Americans United for Separation of Church and State. “The government should not be giving out prayer instructions,”…
Central Seminary seeks to foster racial reconciliation
By Bob Allen A pastor and seminary professor who organized a peaceful prayer response in Kansas City prior to the grand jury decision in Ferguson, Mo., last November is now recruiting communities of faith to host “prayer tables” intended to…
Seminary president says Southern Baptists drifting toward infant baptism
By Bob Allen While a recent Baptist News Global story about a Baptist church in Ohio sprinkling an infant is newsworthy, baptizing babies isn’t as far-fetched as many conservative Southern Baptist churches assume, a seminary president said in a May…
‘Colorblindness’ ignores systemic racism, speaker says
By Bob Allen Healing America’s racial rift will require changing not only hearts and minds but also systems that oppress racial minorities and the poor, said a speaker at a recent gathering of Baptists in Missouri focused on building peace…
AWAB executive director stepping down
By Bob Allen Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists Executive Director Robin Lunn has resigned her position effective June 30, board chair David Weasley said in an email to members and donors May 5. Lunn, an ordained Baptist minister who…
Mike Huckabee announces presidential bid
By Bob Allen Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee announced his second run for president May 5 at a gathering in his hometown of Hope, Ark., pledging to lead the country “from hope to higher ground.” “It seems perfectly fitting that…
Southern Baptist military chaplains may plant churches overseas
By Bob Allen Southern Baptist military chaplains would be authorized to plant churches overseas under a recommendation headed toward the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting June 16-17 in Columbus, Ohio. In February the SBC Executive Committee approved a recommendation enabling…
Christian leaders voice support for Ukraine
By Bob Allen Ukrainian church leaders called on the global Christian community to show solidarity with the people of Ukraine at an April 28 consultation in London. The event was co-sponsored by BMS World Mission, founded in 1792 by Baptists…