NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) — Southern Baptists’ new spokesman for moral and religious-liberty concerns offered a corrective for Christian involvement in politics in a wide-ranging, 45-minute interview July 8 on C-SPAN. “I think there was a day when evangelical Christians in…
Baptist World Alliance calls for end to Cuba embargo, presents human rights award to Glen Stassen
OCHO RIOS, Jamaica (ABP) — Baptist leaders from around the world called on the United States to lift its half-century-old economic embargo on Cuba in a resolution adopted during the Baptist World Alliance annual gathering July 1-6 in Ocho Rios,…
White House says it can’t list Westboro Baptist Church as hate group or remove tax-exempt status
WASHINGTON (RNS) — In response to five “We the People” petitions, the White House condemned the actions of the Westboro Baptist Church but said it is powerless to list the Kansas church as a hate group and remove its tax-exempt…
Pastors whose congregations face foreclosure say it’s vital to act, recall church is not a building
(ABP) — A Missionary Baptist pastor in Anniston, Ala., learned recently that his church faces foreclosure and its building may be auctioned to the highest bidder by the end of the month. The Anniston Star reported that Pastor La’Noan Ealy…
Churches have role to play, Suzii Paynter tells conference on immigration
DALLAS (ABP) — Faith communities in the United States both serve and benefit from immigrants, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Executive Coordinator Suzii Paynter said July 10 in a conference at the George W. Bush Presidential Center in Dallas. “Immigrants have brought…
Megachurch pastor Joel Hunter pays price for attempting to bridge divide between political parties
LONGWOOD, Fla. (RNS) — There’s a price to pay for becoming the voice of moderate conservatism and coalition politics. Even more so for refusing to march in lockstep with the Republican Party. Ask Joel Hunter of Northland Church, Florida’s largest…
TRENDING: SEKAP
Here’s a no-brainer trend: blogs, Twitter and Facebook pronouncements by public religious leaders going viral with all kinds of unintended negative consequences. Besides making me shake my bald head, it raises the question of what the “best practices” trend will…
EDITORIAL: Egyptian hope
According to a recent Associated Press report, for many years Egypt’s Christian minority refused to become involved in politics for fear of reprisals. They relied, instead, on their church to make their case to those in power. When Hosni Mubarak…
OPINION: Relegation or responsibility?
What is another word for “thesaurus”? Roget has given every writer a treasure book for alternative ways of saying the same thing. The usage of words rises and falls in the marketplace of ideas and culture much like the tides…
HeraldBeat: Tracking Baptists across the Mid-Atlantic
Accepted a new call? Been ordained? Church celebrating an anniversary? Mission trip or project that you would like highlighted on the HeraldBeat page? Send info to HeraldBeat editor Barbara Francis at [email protected]. Transitions ON THE MOVE Mark Mofield, to Temple…
WINN RECOMMENDS: Books that matter
Moving Miss Peggy, Robert Benson (Abingdon) Robert Benson is one of our finest writers. If you have not read him, I suggest you do so now. Miss Peggy is Robert’s mom, and this masterful story narrates Peggy’s diagnosis of dementia…
VITAL SIGNS: Third pig thinking
You remember the story of the Three Little Pigs, don’t you? Sent out by their mother to make their way in the world, they live in fear of the Big Bad Wolf. Their first order of business is to build…