ALEXANDRIA, La. (ABP) — In an unprecedented open letter to trustees of the Southern Baptist Convention’s North American Mission Board, the head of an SBC-affiliated state convention called Sept. 9 for NAMB trustees not to endorse a search committee’s recommendation…
Donations not keeping pace with Pakistan relief needs, say Baptists
ATLANTA (ABP) — Baptist organizations in the United States and elsewhere are continuing their efforts to provide relief after catastrophic flooding in Pakistan — but funds are being stretched to the limit by the disaster’s massive scale. According to estimates…
Hispanic pastor facing deportation is released on bond
ATLANTA (ABP) — A Hispanic North Carolina pastor is out on bond after the first stage of deportation proceedings against him and is planning his case to avoid getting snared by a 15-year-old crime for which he has already served…
Kentucky pastor recommended as new NAMB president
ALPHARETTA, Ga. (ABP) — The pastor of one of the Southern Baptist Convention’s most visible leaders will be recommended as the new head of the denomination’s North American Mission Board. Kevin Ezell, pastor of Highview Baptist Church in Louisville, Ky.,…
Two prominent Baptist thinkers criticize Beck’s ‘Restoring Honor’ rally
WASHINGTON (ABP) — When popular conservative radio and TV personality Glenn Beck called for “revival” on the National Mall Aug. 28, he was making a hash of both patriotism and faith, according to published comments by a pair of prominent…
As the Iraq war ‘ends,’ a retrospective
By David Gushee Barack Obama came into office, in part, on the strength of his promise to end the United States’ war in Iraq within 16 months. On Aug. 31 he will offer a major speech that is supposed to…
FAITH DIGEST
Jordan too polluted for baptisms? Concerns about pollution and water quality have prompted an environmental advocacy group to call for banning baptisms in the lower Jordan River, where the Bible says Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. Israeli authorities…
Christian higher education not spared from recession’s impact
God makes rain fall on the just and the unjust, Jesus said. Similarly, recession makes market prices fall, affecting endowments of Christian higher education and secular universities alike. United States and Canadian schools suffered an average 23 percent drop in…
Duvall on film and faith
THE PLAINS, Va. (RNS) — Amid the rolling hills of Northern Virginia, actor Robert Duvall lives in a rural hamlet not unlike the on-screen settings where he has immersed himself in Southern culture. It is, his wife says, “the last…
Are the devout less stressed?
TORONTO (RNS) — Religion may provide a “buffer” allowing the devout to feel less anxiety when they make mistakes, compared with nonbelievers, according to new scientific research. Researchers at the University of Toronto measured “error-related negativity” — people’s defensive response…
RIGHT OR WRONG? Liability
Following a recent service at our church, a visitor tripped over a curb. She maintained to people around her that she was all right but then asked for an ambulance to carry her two and a half blocks to the…
Baptist higher education traces long tradition
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) — Baptist higher education stands on the shoulders of a long tradition in Christianity linking knowledge to faith. The Apostle Paul, many of the early church fathers and important theologians like Augustine were respected for knowledge, both…