By Bob Allen Nearly 200 years after religious zeal prompted a young convert named Joseph Smith to found a movement called the Latter-day Saints, the once-despised minority “cult” increasingly is going mainstream. With a Mormon running for president, a hit…
GOP platform called most conservative
By Bob Allen Delegates to the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., accused President Obama of waging a “war on religion,” declared a “fundamental individual right to life” for the unborn and reaffirmed support for a constitutional ban on…
IBTS trustees propose move to Amsterdam
By Bob Allen Trustees of the International Baptist Theological Seminary have proposed relocating the 63-year-old seminary from Eastern Europe to the Netherlands. If approved by the European Baptist Federation governing council Sept. 26-29 in Germany, the move would mark a…
Task group studies Calvinism in SBC
By Bob Allen A 16-member advisory team is meeting Aug. 29-30 in Nashville, Tenn., to help the president of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee draft a strategic plan to bridge a growing divide over Calvinism in the nation’s second-largest…
Calvinism advisory team meeting this week
By Bob Allen A 16-member advisory team is meeting Aug. 29-30 in Nashville, Tenn., to help the president of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee draft a strategic plan to bridge a growing divide over Calvinism in the nation’s second-largest…
Calvinism advisory team meeting this week
By Bob Allen A 16-member advisory team is meeting Aug. 29-30 in Nashville, Tenn., to help the president of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee draft a strategic plan to bridge a growing divide over Calvinism in the nation’s second-largest…
When the cavalry doesn’t come
By Bill Wilson A seasoned minister was addressing a group of young clergy and talking about some of the lessons learned on the job — the kind you can’t learn in graduate school or from a book. These are the…
Pastor: Turn the light on sexual abuse
By Bob Allen A Texas Baptist pastor urged his congregation to shine a light on sexual abuse, which he says occurs much more frequently than most people believe, even in churches. Gary Morgan, pastor of Cowboy Church of Ellis County…
Baptists rally support for Senate candidate
By Bob Allen A Baptist state newspaper editor, reported last week to the IRS for possibly violating federal tax law that bans nonprofit charities from endorsing candidates, convened a conference call Aug. 24 in which former presidential candidate Mike Huckabee…
Church reverses policy on gays
By Bob Allen An American Baptist church in Evansville, Ind., drew local media attention with reports it has reversed its previous policy of acceptance and inclusion of members who are openly gay. NBC television affiliate WFIE reported Aug. 21 that…
Baptist minister enters prison system
By Bob Allen A former British Baptist pastor convicted last year of sexual abuse has been transferred to custody of the Virginia Department of Corrections. Robert Dando, former senior minister at Worcester Park Baptist Church in suburban London, is now…