A By Bob Allen North Carolina pastor is recovering from injuries received in an accident while returning home from last week’s meeting of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Coordinating Council. Roger Gilbert, pastor of First Baptist Church in Mount Airy, N.C.,…
Faith leaders condemn Franklin Graham for questioning Obama’s faith
By Bob Allen Heads of four historically black Baptist denominations joined other faith leaders Feb. 28 in an open letter condemning recent comments by Franklin Graham questioning whether President Obama is a Christian. Signed by leaders of the Progressive National…
Baptists oppose gay-marriage ban
By Bob Allen About 100 people attended a statewide rally Feb. 25 at a Baptist church to oppose an upcoming vote to ban gay marriage in North Carolina. The gathering at Myers Park Baptist Church in Charlotte, N.C., was the…
CBF council affirms task force report
By Bob Allen The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Coordinating Council affirmed the 2012 Task Force report Feb. 24, pending adjustments from listening sessions the previous day that will be resubmitted for final approval by e-mail. A timeline calls for more work…
CBF leader says it’s time to revisit ban on hiring gays
Baptist college sues over contraceptive mandate
By Bob Allen A Baptist college in Louisiana is suing the federal government over a requirement that religious schools and hospitals cover contraceptives in insurance for their employees, including birth control pills that induce abortion. The Alliance Defense Fund filed…
Faith leaders ask candidates to avoid sowing religious discord
By Bob Allen The Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty joined Jewish and interfaith leaders in drafting a statement Feb. 21 calling on candidates to refrain from using religion as a political wedge. The document titled “Religion in Political Campaigns…
Children turned away from church while sex offender preaches
By Bob Allen A Baptist church in Florida is barring children from attendance where a registered sex offender has been preaching since the end of January. Jacksonville television station WJXT quoted a woman Feb. 19 who said she was turned…
Expert: Church-state problem result of employer-based insurance system
By Bob Allen A Baptist church-state scholar says religious liberty concerns about new coverage mandates come with the territory in America’s employer-based health insurance system. Melissa Rogers Melissa Rogers, director of the Center for Religion and Public Affairs at Wake…
Task force proposes new CBF funding plan
By Bob Allen A task force studying the future of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship is recommending a new funding plan that moves decisions about how money is spent closer to the local church. Wrapping up a two-year process that included…
Colson, George compare Obama health-care mandate to Nazis
By Bob Allen Two Baptist thinkers describe President Obama’s requirement that religious organizations include contraception in their employees’ health-care coverage as what some term a “Niemoeller moment” reminiscent of the slippery-slope devaluation of human rights that occurred in Nazi Germany….
Pastor’s killer still unfit to stand trial
By Bob Allen An Illinois judge ruled Feb. 10 that a man accused of murdering a Southern Baptist preacher in his pulpit nearly three years ago is mentally unfit to stand trial. Madison County Circuit Judge Richard Tognarelli said there…