By Bob Allen A past moderator of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and pioneer in black church relations in the Southern Baptist Convention prior to a 1991 schism attended the recent meeting of a task force on race appointed by SBC…
BWA, CBF collaborate on UN work
By Bob Allen The Baptist World Alliance and Cooperative Baptist Fellowship have joined forces to enhance a Baptist presence at the United Nations, leaders of the two groups announced recently. BWA and CBF leaders finalized a partnership agreement in July…
SNAP asks Baptists not to appeal abuse verdict
By Bob Allen An organization that supports and advocates on behalf of clergy sex abuse victims has asked the Florida Baptist Convention to reconsider plans to appeal a $12.5 million award to a man sexually abused by a minister convicted…
Furman names first female president
By Bob Allen Baylor University administrator and accounting professor Elizabeth Davis has been named president of Furman University, an independent private school in Greenville, S.C., that broke ties with the South Carolina Baptist Convention in 1992. Davis, 51, will become…
Brief says Hobby Lobby puts RFRA on trial
By Bob Allen The Southern Baptist owners of Hobby Lobby claim in a Supreme Court brief filed Feb. 10 that mandated coverage of contraceptives under Obamacare is a textbook violation of a 1993 law enacted with broad support to prevent…
Shahan murder case headed to grand jury
By Bob Allen An Alabama Baptist minister charged with murder in his wife’s July slaying waived an initial court appearance Feb. 5. The case against him now is headed toward a grand jury. Attorneys for Richard Shahan, former children and…
Georgia Baptists support guns in church
By Bob Allen Georgia Baptists’ new lobbyist made headlines his second week on the job, testifying in the state’s General Assembly in support of legislation that would allow guns in churches. “Really, it’s a sanctity of human life issue as…
Report: Liberian seminary ordered closed
By Bob Allen Reports from Africa say a labor judge ordered a shutdown Jan. 6 of the Liberia Baptist Theological Seminary, the latest move in a series of disputes involving a group calling itself “Concerned Baptists” opposed to Liberia Baptist…
Bob Jones University halts abuse probe
By Bob Allen Bob Jones University has pulled the plug on an independent investigation into the school’s handling of allegations of sexual abuse, the group hired to conduct the probe announced Feb. 6. Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian…
Obama stresses religious freedom at prayer breakfast
By Bob Allen Promoting religious freedom abroad is a key objective of U.S. foreign policy, President Obama told a crowd of about 3,500 at the 62nd National Prayer Breakfast at the Washington Hilton Feb. 6. “There are times when we work…
Children’s minister charged with abuse
By Bob Allen An associate pastor at a Southern Baptist church in Muscle Shoals, Ala., is being held on a more than $1 million bond after reportedly telling police he sexually abused so many children that he could not remember…
Peeping preacher’s prison sentence stands
By Bob Allen A Mississippi judge on Wednesday refused to reduce a 10-year prison sentence he handed down to a former Southern Baptist traveling evangelist and popular youth speaker convicted of video voyeurism in 2012. “I think basically I got…