Ana Karim, a Cuban-American Alliance member, urges the group to contact lawmakers. CHARLOTTE, N.C. (ABP) — The Alliance of Baptists applauded President Obama for loosening restrictions on American's travel to Cuba and called for more reform during the progressive group's…
Former SBC president ‘concerned’ about Rick Warren’s comments on gay marriage
TAYLORS, S.C. (ABP) — A former president of the Southern Baptist Convention said he is "deeply concerned" about comments by Purpose Driven Life author Rick Warren that a recent court decision allowing gay marriage is not part of his agenda….
Protestant pastors divided on global warming
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) — Protestant pastors are sending mixed messages about the environment and climate change, according to a new survey by LifeWay Research. In a survey of 1,002 clergy last October, 47 percent agreed and 47 percent disagreed with…
Baptist groups feel recession’s pinch
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP)—Many things divide the Baptist denomination, but one thing all groups share is the challenge of raising money during a recession. Six months into the fiscal year, receipts to the Southern Baptist Convention’s Cooperative Program were running 3.7…
BGAV church offers ‘Soul Food’ in town hit hard by recession
DALTON, Ga. (ABP)—Many lives are unraveling in Dalton, Ga., nicknamed the “Carpet Capital of the World,” in the current recession, creating both challenges and opportunities for churches. The North Georgia city of 33,000 makes nearly 75 percent of America’s floor…
For churches, a right and wrong way to cut staff
LAKELAND, Fla. (RNS)—As many congregations grapple with declining contributions, some faith communities are following the lead of cash-strapped corporations by laying off employees. But the stakes are higher, congregational leaders say, when you’re putting someone’s spiritual leader out on the…
Economic woes give churches a reason to go green
WASHINGTON (RNS)—Mary Miller used to have trouble getting fellow members of Wilmore United Methodist Church in Kentucky to go green. But as it turns out, a sour economy was an unlikely answer to prayer. As the economy shrank, so did…
Violence mars Easter in northern Nigeria
MINA, Nigeria (ABP) — Easter Sunday turned violent in two cities in Nigeria's northern state of Niger, when young people presumed to be fundamentalist Muslims burned churches in Gwada, while Christian young people in the state capital of Mina defended…
Former SBC president Franklin Paschall dies
Franklin Paschall was pastor of First Baptist Church in Nashville 1956-1983 and SBC president 1966-68. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) — Two past presidents of the Southern Baptist Convention paid tribute to a third — Franklin Paschall, longtime pastor of First Baptist…
A cross-shaped world
By David Gushee The Christian faith presents as its central image a bleeding man dying a cruel death on a Roman cross. We say that this Friday-afternoon misery was the central event in both human and divine history. We most…
Rick Warren says he did not campaign for Proposition 8
{youtube}7o4QqGbQmU0{/youtube} LAKE FOREST, Calif. (ABP) — Rick Warren is drawing heat for telling CNN's Larry King in an April 7 broadcast that he did not endorse Proposition 8, a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage that California voters approved last year. The appearance was…
Vermont is first state to approve gay marriage legislatively
MONTPELIER, Vt. (ABP) — On April 7, Vermont became the first jurisdiction in the United States to legalize same-sex marriage through legislative means. The decision comes less than five days after the Iowa Supreme Court unanimously overturned a law banning…