By Bob Allen Former Cooperative Baptist Fellowship moderator Harriet Harral turned citizen journalist when her return flight from an Associated Baptist Press board meeting turned into a bomb scare that made national headlines Oct. 1. Harral, CBF moderator in 2007-2008,…
Baptist leader says pope soft on sin
By Bob Allen The head of the Southern Baptist Convention Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission says Pope Francis is soft on sin. Russell Moore, president of the moral-concerns agency for the nation’s second-largest faith group behind Catholicism, criticized the pope’s…
ABP/Religious Herald merger moves ahead
By Bob Allen Associated Baptist Press directors voted Sept. 30 to merge with the Religious Herald, a Virginia Baptist newspaper published since 1828. Details of the merger plan, by mutual agreement marked confidential until acted upon by both governing boards,…
Embrace diversity, says BWA leader
By Bob Allen Cultural and theological diversity among Baptists worldwide is both a challenge and a strength, Baptist World Alliance General Secretary Neville Callam told European Baptist leaders gathered Sept. 25-28 in Bratislava, Slovakia. Callam urged the Council of the…
Evangelicals behind Catholics on abuse
By Bob Allen A Liberty University law professor and grandson of Billy Graham told reporters Sept. 26 that he thinks evangelicals “are worse” than Catholics when it comes to responding to sexual abuse by clergy. “Protestants can be very arrogant…
Glorieta leaseholders seek damages
By Bob Allen An Arkansas couple who own a house on leased land at Glorieta Conference Center have sued LifeWay Christian Resources and numerous other parties for $12.4 million, accusing the Southern Baptist publishing house of fraud. Kirk and Suzie…
Baptist leader calls for dialogue about race
By Bob Allen It’s time for black and white Baptists to begin honest dialogue about the reality of racial inequality in the United States, says Virginia denominational leader John Upton. Upton, executive director of the predominantly white Baptist General Association…
Churches may pay less under Obamacare
By Bob Allen A new program designed to make it easier to buy health insurance for small businesses has potential to become a major source of medical coverage for church staff and employees, says Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Church Benefits Board…
Churches may pay less under Obamacare
By Bob Allen A new program designed to make it easier to buy health insurance for small businesses has potential to become a major source of medical coverage for church staff and employees, says Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Church Benefits Board…
Ministry says lawsuit settlement unfair
By Bob Allen A Kentucky Baptist Convention agency claims settlement of a 13-year lawsuit between a former children’s home employee fired because she is a lesbian and the Commonwealth of Kentucky convicts it without a trial of violating the religious…
Ministry says lawsuit settlement unfair
By Bob Allen A Kentucky Baptist Convention agency claims settlement of a 13-year lawsuit between a former children’s home employee fired because she is a lesbian and the Commonwealth of Kentucky convicts it without a trial of violating the religious…
SBC touts safeguard for gay-marriage foes
By Bob Allen The Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission is backing a bill filed in Congress to protect religious institutions and other nonprofit groups that don’t recognize same-sex marriage from possible discrimination. The Marriage and Religious Freedom Act,…