The American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit Aug. 30 on behalf of a Christian woman forced to remove her headscarf for a driver’s license photo in violation of her religious convictions. The lawsuit says Yvonne Allen of Tuskegee,…
Historically black Baptist college launches institute to study black-on-black crime
Arkansas Baptist College held a grand opening Aug. 25 for an institute researching black-on-black crime, named in honor of a student slain while helping someone change a tire just off the edge of campus in 2012. The Derek Olivier Research…
Rick Bennett to lead Tennessee CBF
A former member of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s national staff has been tapped to lead the Tennessee CBF, one of 18 autonomous state and regional organizations that relate to the 1,800-church Fellowship. Rick Bennett, pastor of First Baptist Church in…
Campaign raises funds for Baptist gathering
A nonprofit organization has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help the National Baptist Convention make up a $65,000 tourism grant lost after an atheist group filed a lawsuit questioning the use of taxpayer dollars to support the group’s annual session…
American Baptist minister remembered as agent of reconciliation
An American Baptist pastor and denominational leader who early in his ministry advocated for justice and reconciliation in his native South Africa in the waning years of apartheid died Aug. 20. Desmond Hoffmeister, 56, senior pastor at Granada Hills Baptist…
Student social media sparks race controversy for Christian school
The headmaster of a private Christian school started by First Baptist Church in Orlando, Fla., said Aug. 25 that he is taking “deliberate steps” to deal with students who created a social media controversy by posting racially insensitive messages on…
American Baptist group affirms children’s home decision to decline donation
American Baptist leaders have issued a statement of solidarity with an Oklahoma charity in the news for refusing to accept a donation given in honor of an atheist group. American Baptist Home Mission Societies released a statement Aug. 25 affirming…
CBF affirms top exec in the process of divorce
Cooperative Baptist Fellowship leaders released statements Aug. 25 affirming the leadership of Executive Coordinator Suzii Paynter in light of her pending divorce.
Baptist children’s home declined gift from atheists, but fund will still benefit the cause
An atheist whose $100 donation to a Baptist charity in Oklahoma was declined has turned the gift into seed money for a GoFundMe campaign fund that now has drawn tens of thousands of dollars and is growing. Matt Wilbourn of…
New Baptist Covenant links white, black churches in ministry
A Baptist inner-city minister says he sees parallels today to the disappointment with white moderate attitudes expressed 53 years ago in Martin Luther King’s famous “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.” “I honestly think silence of the church in this era…
Baptist editor eyeing case of Muslim suspended for refusing to serve booze
A Baptist state newspaper editor says a Muslim flight attendant who sued ExpressJet airlines for suspending her because she refused to serve alcohol to passengers could be a test case on whether courts use a double standard in adjudicating religious…
Court halts execution criticized in clergy letter
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has halted an execution scheduled Aug. 24 which had been labeled immoral by a group of evangelical leaders including several well-known moderate Baptists.