WASHINGTON (RNS) — Many economists warn the government’s huge national debt is a looming threat to long-term prosperity. And according to a growing number of conservative Christians, it also is immoral. As Washington debates President Obama’s proposed 2012 budget, the…
Gospel writers harmonize; they don’t sing the melody of Jesus in unison
WACO, Texas (ABP) — Reading the Gospels is less like listening to a solo than to a choir singing in four-part harmony, a Duke University scholar said at the 2011 Winter Pastors’ School at Baylor University’s Truett Theological Seminary. Richard Hays,…
Motorcycle wreck kills Baptist pastor
EDMOND, Okla. (ABP) — A prominent Southern Baptist pastor in Oklahoma died Feb. 16 from injuries sustained in a motorcycle wreck. Alan Day Alan Day, 62, pastor of First Baptist Church in Edmond, Okla., for more than 25 years, reportedly…
Tom Elliff nominated as IMB president
RICHMOND, Va. — Tom Elliff, a longtime Oklahoma pastor and former missionary, has been nominated to be president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s International Mission Board. Elliff, 66, is the choice of a 15-member search committee to succeed Jerry Rankin,…
Tom Elliff nominee for new IMB president
RICHMOND, Va. (ABP) — Tom Elliff, a former longtime pastor and missionary, is the unanimous choice of a 15-member search committee for a new president of the Southern Baptist Convention International Mission Board, according to Baptist Press. Elliff, 66, will…
Tom Elliff, longtime pastor, nominated to be SBC mission board president
RICHMOND, Va. — Tom Elliff, a longtime Oklahoma pastor and former missionary, has been nominated to be president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s International Mission Board. Elliff, 66, is the choice of a 15-member search committee to succeed Jerry Rankin,…
Memories, lessons recalled from historic bombed church
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (RNS) — Carolyn McKinstry pointed to a doorway in the balcony of Sixteenth Street Baptist Church and memories started rushing back — good ones. “I used to run all over this place as a little kid,” she said….
Church membership trends unchanged
NEW YORK (ABP) — Pentecostals, Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses gained ground, mainline churches continued to decline and growth in the largest two denominations — Roman Catholics and Southern Baptists — remained stagnant, according to new statistics compiled by the National…
Church membership trends unchanged
NEW YORK (ABP) — Pentecostals, Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses gained ground, mainline churches continued to decline and growth in the largest two denominations — Roman Catholics and Southern Baptists — remained stagnant, according to new statistics compiled by the National…
Mohler: Preacher’s burden to save flock from ignorance
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (ABP) — A Southern Baptist seminary president told a recent preacher's gathering that it is a pastor's responsibility to "save his people from ignorance" about the Bible. Preaching through several chapters from the New Testament book of Romans,…
Foundation appeals ruling
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (ABP) — The Missouri Baptist Foundation is appealing a judge's decision to return control of the agency to the Missouri Baptist Convention. The Foundation filed a notice of appeal to the Missouri Court of Appeals on Feb. 8. Foundation…
Panamanian dentist shares gospel with a healing touch
PANAMA CITY, Panama — Cleveland Cooper, a Panamanian dentist and his wife, Matilde, a retired nurse, are the heart and soul of a vast labor of love. “We are motivated by the love of Christ,” Cooper asserts, but to give…