By Bob Allen The interim pastor of a Southern Baptist church in North Carolina landed in hot water after reportedly telling graduating seniors at a public high school baccalaureate service that if they were gay they would go to hell….
Baptists fined for public worship in Crimea
By Bob Allen Seven Baptists in Crimea were fined in May for allegedly violating more restrictive limits on public demonstrations since Russia annexed the former Ukrainian territory last year, according to Forum 18, an international news service that monitors religious…
American Baptists seeking buyer for Mission Center
By Bob Allen The American Baptist Churches USA has issued a briefing document to assess interest of potential buyers of the denomination’s national offices in metropolitan Philadelphia. 588 Associates, a corporation tasked with potential sale or redevelopment of the American…
Three Southern Baptists running for president
By Bob Allen A third Southern Baptist entered the 2016 presidential race when Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) threw his hat into the ring June 1. Graham, who announced his candidacy at a rally in his hometown of Central, S.C., joins…
Faith leaders oppose drone attacks
By Bob Allen American Baptist and Alliance of Baptist officials joined 27 other religious leaders in a recent open letter to President Obama opposing lethal drone strikes by the U.S. military. Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Muslim and Sikh leaders said estimates…
Supreme Court sides with Muslim woman in hijab dispute
By Bob Allen The U.S. Supreme Court ruled June 1 that retailer Abercrombie & Fitch violated the civil rights of a Muslim woman not hired because her religious obligations conflicted with the company’s policy on employee attire. Overturning a decision…
Longtime music professor Richard Lin dies
By Bob Allen Richard Lin, a church music professor and choir director who mentored thousands of church musicians at two Southern Baptist Convention seminaries, died May 21 in Santa Rosa, Calif. Lin, 89, was born in 1925 in Hunan Province,…
Southern Baptist leader endorses secularist campaign
By Bob Allen A Southern Baptist seminary president has added his blessing to a campaign advocating for atheists. Danny Akin, president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C., affirmed Openly Secular, a campaign fighting discrimination against people based…
Man confesses to child porn; church disciplines his wife
By Bob Allen A Dallas megachurch has apologized to a wife subjected to church discipline for leaving her husband without permission after learning he is a pedophile. Elders of The Village Church, a multisite Southern Baptist congregation led by Acts…