By Bob Allen A Baptist college in Louisiana opened its academic year Aug. 28 with a chapel service honoring its former president, who stepped down earlier this year amid accusations of misleading trustees, whistleblower complaints and public calls for his…
After a tough year, Birmingham church fills pulpit vacancy
By Bob Allen After more than two years without a senior pastor, First Baptist Church of Birmingham, Ala., welcomed an inaugural sermon Aug. 10 by new Pastor Jim Cooley. Cooley, pastor of First Baptist Church in Haleyville, Ala., since 2003,…
Baptist leader says Mideast Christians don’t need visas, but help to stay in the region
By Bob Allen A Lebanese Baptist leader says the West should be helping Christians to stay in the Middle East, not offering them visas to escape. Nabil Costa, executive director of the Lebanese Society for Education and Social Development, opposes…
New book proposes a theology for ‘other’ Baptists
By Bob Allen Four centuries after originating as a protest movement within the church, Baptists today have evolved into a distinct sect committed to preserving its place in a hierarchy of denominations, Baptist theologian Curtis Freeman argues in a new…
Clergy, educators challenge Florida voucher plan
By Bob Allen A retired Baptist pastor active in Americans United for Separation of Church and State joined educators and fellow clergy in a lawsuit claiming a Florida school-voucher program is unconstitutional. Harry Parrott Jr., an ordained American Baptist minister…
David Platt elected IMB president
By Bob Allen David Platt, a 36-year-old pastor active in the “young, restless and reformed” movement in the Southern Baptist Convention, was elected Aug. 27 as president of the SBC International Mission Board. Platt, pastor of The Church at Brook…
David Hull to join the Center for Healthy Churches
By Bob Allen A veteran Baptist pastor who stepped down in April after his wife became a pastor in another town has accepted a new role with a consulting firm devoted to improving the spiritual, emotional and organizational health of…
Liberian seminary responds to humanitarian crisis
By Bob Allen The interim president of a Baptist seminary forced out of Liberia by the Ebola outbreak says the crisis is taking a toll far greater than those who catch the illness. Richard Wilson, a professor at Mercer University…
Wilshire honors George Mason for 25 years as pastor
By Bob Allen A prominent Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Church in Texas marked its pastor’s 25th anniversary Aug. 24 by renaming a model pastoral residency program in his honor. A weekend-long celebration at Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas culminated with a…