By Bob Allen An Oklahoma judge gave the state 30 days to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the state capitol grounds in a lawsuit filed by a Baptist minister. Bruce Prescott, an ordained Baptist minister and former executive director…
School district says gridiron baptism violated policy
By Bob Allen A mass baptism on a high school football field violated policy but was done without malicious intent, according to an investigation by the county superintendent. Carroll County School Superintendent Scott Cowart said in a statement to the…
Judge revokes bond for accused youth pastor
By Bob Allen A Texas Baptist pastor told an Alabama judge Sept. 14 that he knew that a worship pastor he hired in April was facing criminal sex charges, but he didn’t know how many. Steve Knott, pastor of First…
Paige Patterson details missiological ‘battle’ at IMB
By Bob Allen Four months before the Southern Baptist Convention’s International Mission Board announced plans to eliminate between 600 and 800 jobs, a seminary president said about 750 missionaries need to be removed because they are ineffective or doctrinally unsound….
NCC asks US to lift quota on refugees
By Bob Allen The National Council of Churches, an ecumenical gathering of 37 member communions representing 45 million Americans, joined a call Sept. 14 urging President Obama to increase Syrian refugee resettlement in the United States. The NCC endorsed a…
Global Women taps new leader
By Bob Allen Stacy K. Blackmon, a 10-year veteran communicator, strategist and ministry leader, has been selected as the third executive director of Global Women, an ecumenical women’s missions organization with moderate Baptist ties. Blackmon, who most recently worked as…
Christian Index to cease print publication
By Bob Allen A Georgia Baptist newspaper that lays claim to being the nation’s oldest continuously published religious periodical will no longer appear in print after Dec. 31. Gerald Harris, 31st editor of the 193-year-old Christian Index, announced in an editorial…
Church questioned after hiring accused predator
By Bob Allen An Alabama judge has revoked the bond of a former youth pastor awaiting trial for sex crimes after media reports he was serving at a Cooperative Baptist Fellowship church in Texas. Advocates for survivors of child sexual…
Controversial preacher returning to T4G stage
By Bob Allen A speaker sidelined two years ago by a sexual abuse scandal at his former church is back at center stage for an upcoming conference featuring prominent leaders in the Southern Baptist Convention. C.J. Mahaney, senior pastor of…