By Bob Allen Rob Fox, field coordinator for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Virginia since 2009, is stepping down at the end of August to become vice president of institutional advancement at Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond. Fox, a BTSR…
Tragedy strikes America’s ‘happiest’ city
By Bob Allen The pastor of First Baptist Church in Lafayette, La., urged church members to pray and be open for “conversations about Jesus” after a deadly shooting in a movie theater in their hometown July 23. “After every mass…
Obamacare foes appeal to Supreme Court
By Bob Allen Groups including an order of Catholic nuns and the agency that provides retirement and insurance plans for Southern Baptist ministers are asking the U.S. Supreme Court for the right to exclude contraceptive coverage in their employee healthcare…
Southern Baptist mission rally includes interviews with presidential candidates
By Bob Allen At least two GOP presidential hopefuls will vie for evangelical support at an upcoming conference on missions sponsored by the Southern Baptist Convention. Russell Moore, president of the SBC Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, announced plans to…
Disputed cross memorial sold to private group
By Bob Allen One of the nation’s longest-running conflicts between church and state may end in a win-win resolution with the sale of a 43-foot cross located on public land to a private association. The U.S. Department of Defense sold…
Feds offer reward in black church fire
By Bob Allen The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has announced a reward up to $2,500 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons who set a predominantly Africa-American church in Charlotte, N.C.,…
Newspaper op-ed decries bashing of Confederate flag
By Bob Allen A guest column in a Baptist state newspaper takes exception to Southern Baptist leaders reacting to the recent church shooting in Charleston, S.C., with calls to take down the Confederate flag. Edward DeVries, pastor of Village of…
‘First Amendment Defense Act’ gets Baptist support
By Bob Allen Southern Baptist leaders in two states urged support for a federal law aimed at protecting Americans who oppose same-sex marriage on religious grounds. Critics, however, say that would allow employers to fire women for getting pregnant out…
Moore hopes Planned Parenthood controversy will galvanize pro-life evangelicals
By Bob Allen The Southern Baptist Convention’s top public policy official says he hopes a controversial viral video claiming to show Planned Parenthood is selling fetal organs for profit will move evangelicals from right thinking to action on the sanctity…