This story hs been updated with a statement from New Heart Community Church. By Bob Allen A statewide affiliate of the Southern Baptist Convention has booted a member church for advocating a “third way” of neither condemnation nor full embrace…
New partnership pact means more funds for CBF of Virginia
By Bob Allen The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and the CBF of Virginia have a new partnership agreement designed to help the state organization to grow its staff. The move flows out of a recommendation by a blue-ribbon task force in…
Global Women head stepping down after eight years
By Bob Allen Cindy Dawson will step down Oct. 31 after eight years as executive director of Global Women, a woman-to-woman missions organization based in Birmingham, Ala., with international partnerships addressing sex trafficking, clean water, maternal health, education and economic development….
New CBF moderator takes up gavel, ‘grateful’ for group’s prayers
By Bob Allen The new moderator of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship opened her first meeting as presiding officer of the CBF Governing Board with gratitude for prayers and support during a family medical emergency that forced her to miss this…
Gushee urges CBF to reclaim lost ethical tradition
By Bob Allen One casualty of the Southern Baptist Convention conflict that led to formation of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship in the early 1990s was a robust Baptist witness on issues of social justice, theologian David Gushee told CBF leaders…
SBC leader says Islam driving force behind ISIL
By Bob Allen A Southern Baptist Convention leader disputed President Obama’s assertion that the terrorist Islamic State is not “Islamic” as “unhelpful” and “fundamentally untruthful.” “We can certainly understand the president’s political predicament,” Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological…
For north Georgia church, a little soul but no blues
While the covered-dish supper has long been a staple of fellowship in Baptist churches, one congregation in Georgia is learning that in today’s economy food can also be a powerful tool for ministry. First Baptist Church in Dalton launched “Soul…
Court hears challenge to clergy housing allowance
By Bob Allen The fate of a 60-year-old provision that allows churches to provide ministers with a tax-exempt “parsonage allowance” now lies in the hands of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The Chicago-based appellate court heard oral arguments…
SBC leader says churches must address violence against women
By Bob Allen The Southern Baptist Convention’s top spokesman for moral concerns says domestic violence is an issue not only of social justice but of theology as well. Russell Moore, president of the SBC Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, wrote…