By Bob Allen The new head of the Southern Baptist Convention’s public policy arm announced Aug. 11 the re-launch of a Research Institute to employ the denomination’s top scholars in engaging complex issues of the day. Russell Moore, president of…
Obamacare changes the way faith-based hospitals deliver care
By Bob Allen Whether most Americans like it or not, the Affordable Care Act — also known as Obamacare — is now the law, and faith-based health care providers say it’s changing the way hospitals view patient care. A new…
Search for lobbyist’s wife enters second month
By Bob Allen The search for a Missouri Baptist lobbyist’s wife continues a month after she disappeared without a trace from her home on a 270-acre family farm an hour south of St. Louis. Lynn Messer, 52, was reported missing…
Baptists in Gaza appeal for prayer after month of shelling
By Bob Allen The Baptist World Alliance asked Aug. 7 for prayer and financial support for Baptists and other Christians struggling to meet humanitarian needs in Gaza. Hanna Massad, former pastor of the Gaza Baptist Church and now living in…
Court considers gay marriage arguments affecting four states
By Bob Allen A gay Baptist minister suing for the right to marry his partner in their home state of Kentucky said he was encouraged after attending yesterday’s hearing at a federal courthouse in Cincinnati challenging bans on same-sex marriage…
Weighing in on border crisis, SBC president says Jesus was an immigrant
By Bob Allen The president of the Southern Baptist Convention says Jesus would be sympathetic to the plight of undocumented children flocking to the southern U.S. border, because as a child he also lived as an immigrant. Ronnie Floyd, senior…
SBC leader blasts Jimmy Carter’s call for recognition of Hamas
By Bob Allen A Southern Baptist Convention leader criticized former President Jimmy Carter’s suggestion that Washington should recognize Hamas as a legitimate political actor as “morally reprehensible” and “an outrage.” Carter, a lifelong Baptist, joined Mary Robinson, a former president…
Kentucky evangelical leaders invite Senate candidates to ‘issues forum’
By Bob Allen Two Southern Baptist leaders in Kentucky and a retired megachurch pastor have joined more than a dozen other groups vying for the venue of a highly anticipated debate between U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and his…
Prison beard case is Supreme Court’s next church-state decision
By Bob Allen Religious liberty advocates say a case headed toward the U.S. Supreme Court Oct. 7 over whether Arkansas prison officials have the right to deny permission for a Muslim inmate to grow a half-inch beard for religious reasons…
‘Third-way’ Baptist church faces possible expulsion
By Bob Allen The 175-church Los Angeles Southern Baptist Association is expected to vote this fall on whether to expel a member church for embracing a “third way” besides discrimination against or unqualified endorsement of people who identify as gay….
Trial date set for accused molester
By Bob Allen A trial date has been set in the case of a North Carolina man charged with taking indecent liberties with four boys while acting as chaperone of a group attending a Baptist church camp. Clyde Wesley Way…
Al Sharpton opens voter-rights center with rally at historic Baptist church
By Bob Allen Activist and ordained Pentecostal minister Al Sharpton challenged a crowd July 30 at the historic 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala., to reclaim voting rights hard won during Freedom Summer, a voter-registration effort credited with bringing…