By Bob Allen The moderator of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship denounced plans by Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan., to picket a vigil for victims of Friday’s Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings. “The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, of which I am…
UK Baptist school gets new leader
By Bob Allen Spurgeon’s College, the largest of seven colleges affiliated with the Baptist Union of Great Britain, has chosen a new principal to succeed Nigel Wright, who is retiring next August after 13 years in the post. He will…
Huckabee blames tragedy on God’s absence
By Bob Allen Former presidential candidate turned talk-show host Mike Huckabee stood by controversial comments blaming the deadly Dec. 14 shootings in Connecticut on the lack of religion in public schools. The day 27 people, including 20 children, died in…
‘Baptist Standard’ goes digital-only
By Bob Allen Starting next year, Texas Baptists will receive their denominational newspaper in e-mail inboxes rather than postal mailboxes, as the Baptist Standard moves to digital-only format starting with the Jan. 14 issue. The move coincides with decisions by…
Solar project proposed at Ridgecrest
By Bob Allen A public hearing is scheduled Jan. 9 on a massive solar-energy project proposed on the grounds of Ridgecrest Conference Center, a retreat facility near Asheville, N.C., owned by LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. New…
Faith leaders oppose Medicaid cuts
By Bob Allen Faith leaders hand-delivered letters Dec. 11 asking 115 members of Congress to oppose funding cuts to Medicaid that they believe could harm Americans with disabilities. Talks in Washington to avert an impending fiscal cliff have pitted Democrats’…
First ‘create’ cohort earns degrees
By Bob Allen Central Baptist Theological Seminary in Shawnee, Kan., held a ceremony Dec. 8 for the first eight graduates of the create Program, a unique master-of-divinity degree program launched in the fall of 2009. The three-year program groups students…
Military college planned for holy mount
By Bob Allen Christian organizations around the world are asking members to sign an online petition protesting plans by Israel’s interior ministry to build a military academy on the Mount of Olives, a holy site for three world religions made…
Hong Kong Baptist U. prof censured
By Bob Allen A Hong Kong Baptist University professor will lose his job for publishing unsubstantiated claims about another university in a controversial book that has been denounced as politically motivated. Radio Television Hong Kong reported Dec. 12 that Professor…
Tennessee Baptist leader says goodbye
By Bob Allen A past president of the Tennessee Baptist Convention who served on numerous key committees over the years is saying goodbye to attendance at annual meetings, explaining the organization has become so theologically narrow that it is no…
Seattle church holds group wedding
By Bob Allen Twenty-five same-sex couples exchanged vows in a group wedding ceremony at First Baptist Church in Seattle Dec. 9, the first day that gays could legally marry in Washington State. Hundreds of couples stood in lines on Thursday…
Website remembers Grady Nutt
By Bob Allen Thirty years after the tragic death of television’s “prime minister of humor,” the family of Baptist comedian Grady Nutt has launched an official website in his honor. “For years, fans have asked us if we are ever…