When evangelist Billy Graham, social activist Jim Wallis, pastor Rick Warren, theologian Al Mohler and author Brian McLaren all can fit under the umbrella term “evangelical,” some theological and cultural observers wonder if the term has lost its meaning. And…
New poll finds large overlap in Religious Right, Tea Party
WASHINGTON (ABP) – A new poll suggests that, contrary to some media characterizations, the Tea Party movement has significant overlap with the Religious Right and the Republican Party. The third biennial American Values Survey, released by the Public Religion Research…
Justices struggle with free-speech limits in arguments over church
WASHINGTON (ABP) — The justices of the Supreme Court struggled Oct. 6 over where to draw the line between freedom of highly unpopular speech and the freedom of a dead soldier’s family to mourn in private. The high court heard…
Mohler criticizes Nobel selection of in-vitro-fertilization inventor
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (ABP) — A Southern Baptist theologian is criticizing the selection of a British biologist who pioneered the technology of in vitro fertilization as winner of the 2010 Nobel Prize in medicine. Cambridge University professor Robert Edwards is winner of…
Reduction in force planned at NAMB
ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP) — Telling staff of the Southern Baptist Convention's North American Mission Board “considerable change” is coming, President Kevin Ezell shared a retirement incentive with employees that will be the beginning of an overall reduction in force in…
BJC board discusses state of liberty
WASHINGTON (ABP) – Directors of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, meeting in Washington Oct. 4-5, discussed the tenuous state of religious freedom in America and heard of the organization’s continuing search for property on Capitol Hill. At their…
Church administrators to focus on risk management
DALLAS (ABP) – A jury in Florida recently ordered a prominent Southern Baptist church to pay $4.75 million to a man injured seven years ago on a youth ski trip — and such verdicts are inspiring church administrators to take…
SBC ethics czar Land comes out in favor of Tennessee mosque
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) — After opposing the building of a mosque near Ground Zero in New York City, the Southern Baptist Convention's chief spokesman on public policy has come out in support of Muslims seeking to build a new Islamic…
SBC ethics chief supports Murfreesboro mosque
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) — After opposing the building of a mosque near Ground Zero in New York City, the Southern Baptist Convention's chief spokesman on public policy has come out in support of Muslims seeking to build a new Islamic…
Clergy sex abuse ‘pervasive,’ study co-author says
WACO, Texas (ABP) — While newspapers carried headlines about high-profile sexual-coercion lawsuits filed against Atlanta mega-church pastor Eddie Long, a Baptist researcher said the problem of clergy sexual abuse is much larger than a few charismatic leaders who abuse their…
‘Heaven’s Rain’ tells story of forgiveness
OKLAHOMA CITY (ABP) — A son of Southern Baptist missionaries who survived the home-invasion murder of his parents in 1979 and later went on to advocate for victims' rights as Oklahoma's youngest-ever state senator brings his story to the big…
European Baptists, other Protestants sign cooperation pact
ROME (ABP) — Baptists in Europe pledged to work more closely with other Protestants on the continent in an agreement signed Sept. 24. Leaders of the European Baptist Federation and the Community of Protestant Churches in Europe signed an accord…