By Ken Camp When Baylor Alumni Association members gather for their fall meeting, they likely will choose one of three options as the organization’s primary function going forward — award financial assistance to Baylor University students, communicate with members or…
After 1,200 loads of laundry and 1,800 showers, relief efforts along border wrap up
By Ken Camp In the past two weeks, Baptist disaster relief workers washed more than 1,200 loads of laundry and made available about 1,800 showers to unaccompanied Latin American children detained along the Mexican border after they entered the United…
Baptists on U.S.-Mexican border offer aid in sudden influx of unaccompanied children
By Ken Camp Baptist volunteers along the U.S.-Mexican border are providing temporary emergency care and other services for a sudden flux of unaccompanied children from Latin America who entered the United States without documentation. Federal authorities detained the undocumented children…
Garland to step down as Truett Seminary dean
By Ken Camp David Garland will step down as dean of Baylor University’s Truett Theological Seminary when he assumes the post of interim provost of the university June 1. In February, when Furman University named Baylor Provost Elizabeth Davis as…
Baptist public policy group to relocate to Austin by September
By Ken Camp One of Baptists’ key public policy advocacy groups is relocating its headquarters in what it hopes will increase support for its legislative priorities. The Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission will move from Dallas to Austin, the state’s…
Southwestern Seminary enrolls Muslim doctoral student, sparks controversy
By Ken Camp Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary President Paige Patterson has acknowledged the seminary recently allowed a Palestinian Muslim to enroll in the school’s Ph.D. program in archaeology. A Muslim’s enrollment in the Fort Worth, Texas, seminary marks a significant…
Texas Baptists respond to wildfires in state’s Panhandle
By Ken Camp Texas Baptist Men disaster relief responded to varied needs after the Double Diamond wildfire burned about 2,600 acres in the state’s Panhandle and destroyed 225 homes around Fritch, Texas. At its high point, the fire forced more…
Despite ‘cease and desist’ order, Baylor Alumni Association publishes account of dispute
By Ken Camp Four months after Baylor University’s chief lawyer sent a letter insisting the Baylor Alumni Association “cease and desist” its use of Baylor’s licensed trademarks, the organization published an issue of the Baylor Line. The magazine includes a…
Texas Baptists consider sale of headquarters building in Dallas
By Ken Camp Baylor University’s board of regents and the Baptist General Convention of Texas executive board will consider a proposal for the university to buy the Baptist Building in Dallas. Baylor regents will vote on the matter at their…
Ashes to ashes: In debate over burial or cremation, some things get lost
By Ken Camp Christians who debate the merits of burial versus cremation may miss a larger issue — helping people deal with the reality of death, some ministers insist. Traditionally, Roman Catholics prohibited cremation except under special circumstances — a…
Funerals in pluralistic society: What makes them distinctively Christian?
By Ken Camp A funeral home contacts a pastor. The family of a deceased person has no church affiliation, and neither did their relative, but they want a minister to conduct their loved one’s memorial service. The minister agrees, but…
Baptists see Fort Hood shootings through lens of Easter
By Ken Camp As ministry leaders at First Baptist Church in Killeen, Texas, prepared for Wednesday evening activities earlier this month, they heard an all-too-familiar report: a shooter had opened fire on soldiers at nearby Fort Hood. “The really sad thing is…