By Bob Allen A labor judge’s Jan. 6 order shutting down the Liberia Baptist Theological Seminary has been lifted, the school’s interim president announced Feb. 21. National Labor Court Judge Comfort Natt ordered the closure over the seminary’s refusal to…
Former SBC leader warns of ‘thriving business’ behind gay surrogacy
By Bob Allen The Southern Baptist Convention’s former top expert on moral and public policy concerns says same-sex marriage is opening doors for a gay-surrogacy movement that he predicts will be harmful to children. “We’ve conducted a 40-year experiment in…
Jury awards $2.3 million in pastor’s wrongful death
By Bob Allen A federal jury has awarded more than $2.3 million to the widow of a Georgia Baptist pastor shot and killed in a botched drug investigation in 2009. Jurors in U.S. District Court in Gainesville, Ga., determined that…
Pastor’s wrongful death lawsuit goes to jury
By Bob Allen A civil trial involving a Baptist pastor killed in 2009 by police who mistook him for a suspected drug dealer is in the hands of a jury. After closing arguments on Wednesday, jurors in U.S. District Court…
Alleged abuse by children’s minister headed for grand jury
By Bob Allen An Alabama children’s minister charged with multiple sex crimes remains in jail after his lawyer withdrew a motion for reduced bond and waived a preliminary hearing on Feb. 18. Attorney Billy Underwood had filed a motion on…
U.S. Baptist church group amid violence in Kiev
By Bob Allen Violence in the Ukraine is up close and personal for a Southern Baptist church in Texas praying for an eight-member mission team working with college students Feb. 13-March 2 in Kiev. Missionaries from First Baptist Church in…
SBC leader says Russia isn’t pro-family, despite anti-gay laws
By Bob Allen The Southern Baptist Convention’s top spokesman for moral and public policy concerns says Russian President Vladimir Putin lacks moral authority to criticize Western countries for abandoning Christian values. “It really kind of makes my blood boil when…
Union University student charged with murder
By Bob Allen A Union University Christian ministry major is being held without bond in Jackson, Tenn., on charges of first-degree murder and tampering with evidence in connection with the homicide of his fiancée, who was found dead from a…
Former youth pastor gets 12 years for sexting teen he met through church
By Bob Allen A former youth minister at a Baptist church in Texas, who admitted to exchanging sexually explicit text messages and photos with an underage girl from his church, has been sentenced to 12 years in federal prison. Joshua…
Gay Baptist minister sues for right to wed
By Bob Allen A Kentucky Baptist minister and gay-rights activist filed a lawsuit Feb. 14 claiming the state’s ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. Maurice “Bojangles” Blanchard — who with his partner, Dominique James, was fined 1 cent for trespassing in…
Pharmacist fired for refusing to sell Plan B sues Walgreens
By Bob Allen A Tennessee pharmacist and Baptist church deacon is suing Walgreens in federal court claiming the drug store chain failed to accommodate his religious objection to dispensing Plan B — also known as the “morning-after pill.” Pharmacist Philip Hall,…
Victim of former missionary’s theft loses health, wealth, but keeps sense of humor
By Bob Allen An Alabama woman who lost her home, business and health as a result of a bookkeeper’s scam says in a new book that she never would have met the man who stole tens of thousands of dollars…