ATLANTA (ABP) — Author Tony Campolo challenged Baptists from across North America to examine which Jesus they preach — the one who incarnates American values or the one who incarnates God. Campolo, professor emeritus at Eastern University near Philadelphia, and…
Huckabee endorsement bring IRS investigation
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Outspoken California pastor and former Southern Baptist Convention officer Wiley Drake is being investigated by the Internal Revenue Service. The candidate for the SBC presidency this year is under scrutiny for using his church letterhead and church-sponsored…
Questions linger on ‘born again’ support for Dems
WASHINGTON — A new poll that shows Sen. Hillary Clinton drawing a large percentage of “born-again” voters is giving her campaign something to trumpet, but is also prompting questions: Did the pollster define born-again too broadly? And if so, are…
Jehovah’s Witnesses fastest growing of U.S. faiths
Jehovah's Witnesses are the fastest-growing church body in the U.S. and Canada, now with more than 1 million members, according to new figures that track church membership in the U.S. and Canada. Although Jehovah's Witnesses ranked 24th on the list…
Virginia mission leader Jerry Jones given doctor of divinity by Indian seminary
KOTTAYAM, India — As part of its fifth graduation exercises on Feb. 8, the India Baptist Theological Seminary awarded the doctor of divinity degree to Jerry Jones, team leader of the Virginia Baptists Mission Board's glocal missions and evangelism team….
Indian pastors’ conference hears reports of persecution of Christian believers
KOTTYAM, India — On the evening of December 24, 2007, as Christians in the Kandhamal District of the Indian state of Orissa were preparing for Christmas, a well-orchestrated attack on Christian churches and homes began. For three days the rampage…
Haggard leaves ‘restoration’ process with Colo. church
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (RNS) — Ted Haggard, the former pastor of a Colorado megachurch who was dismissed after a sex and drug scandal, has decided to end a “spiritual restoration” process that had been set up by the congregation. “He…
Wheaton officials withdraw from letter to Muslims
WHEATON, Ill. (RNS) — The president of Wheaton College, a flagship evangelical institution in Illinois, and two other school officials have removed their names from a letter that called for cooperation with Muslims. The open letter, drafted by Yale Divinity…
Ruth Stafford Peale, Guideposts founder, dies at 101
PAWLING, N.Y. (RNS) — Ruth Stafford Peale, the co-founder of the inspirational magazine Guideposts and widow of author and minister Norman Vincent Peale, died Feb. 6 at her home in Pawling, N.Y., the Guideposts organization announced. Peale, who was 101,…
Bluefield moves forward with new campus center
BLUEFIELD — Bluefield College and the town of Bluefield are one step closer to breaking ground on a new multi-million dollar campus and community center. During a Feb. 15 press conference on the BC campus, leaders from both the town…
Specter moves to allow churches to show Super Bowl
WASHINGTON (RNS) — Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Commitee, plans to introduce legislation to allow churches to show the Super Bowl on widescreen televisions, just as bars do now. “There's absolutely no reason why…
Gore: ‘Heaping contempt’ on creation inconsistent with glorifying God
ATLANTA (ABP) — Christians who speak out for environmentalism can combat skepticism and end America's addiction to carbon fuels, Al Gore told 2,000 Baptists who gathered to hear him Jan. 31 in part of a three-day celebration of denominational unity….