MADISON, Wis. (ABP) — A federal judge has found a National Day of Prayer mandated by Congress unconstitutional, saying it violates the separation of church and state. U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb of the Western District of Wisconsin ruled April…
Founding CBF Coordinator Cecil Sherman suffers massive heart attack
RICHMOND, Va. (ABP) — Cecil Sherman, former Cooperative Baptist Fellowship national coordinator, suffered a massive heart attack April 15, and is currently in critical condition in Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center in Richmond, Va. Sherman's daughter, Eugenia Sherman Brown, described…
Benjamin Hooks, civil-rights icon and Baptist minister, dead at 85
Benjamin Hooks MEMPHIS, Tenn. (ABP) — Civil-rights icon and Baptist minister Benjamin Hooks died April 15 in Memphis, Tenn. He was 85. The former executive director of the NAACP was pastor of Greater Middle Baptist Church in Memphis for…
Spring marks the opening of the ‘Church of Baseball’
ANAHEIM, Calif. (RNS) — Megachurch pastor Rick Warren stood on the mound at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, Calif., and delivered his Easter Sunday pitch. “Baseball is a game of numbers in which every player falls short of perfection,” said Warren,…
OPINION: Apollo 13 and the Gospel
April 17 marks the 40th anniversary of the splashdown of Apollo 13. It was a happy ending to a nearly disastrous and tragic mission. It was also a tribute to the bravery of the three-member crew and the ingenuity and…
Survey finds Africa is most religious part of world
WASHINGTON (RNS) — Researchers say they’ve found the most religious place on Earth — between the southern border of the Sahara Desert and the tip of South Africa. Religion is “very important” to more than three-quarters of the population in…
National Day of Prayer unconstitutional, judge rules
WASHINGTON (RNS) — A federal district judge in Wisconsin has ruled that the 1988 law creating the annual observance of the National Day of Prayer is unconstitutional. “It goes beyond mere ‘acknowledgement’ of religion because its sole purpose is to…
Spring marks opening of the ‘Church of Baseball’
ANAHEIM, Calif. (RNS) — Megachurch pastor Rick Warren stood on the mound at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, Calif., and delivered his Easter Sunday pitch. “Baseball is a game of numbers in which every player falls short of perfection,” said Warren,…
Survey: Africa is most religious part of world
WASHINGTON (RNS) — Researchers say they’ve found the most religious place on Earth — between the southern border of the Sahara Desert and the tip of South Africa. Religion is “very important” to more than three-quarters of the population in…
Russia adoption controversy hasn’t affected Buckner program
DALLAS – Officials at Buckner International say the recent political furor over a news report about a mother who sent her adopted son back to Russia on a one-way flight has not affected the group’s “Angels from Abroad” orphan hosting…
Mohler equates ‘seductive’ post-modern preaching, liberalism
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (ABP) — A Southern Baptist seminary president recently warned pastors and other church leaders about "postmodern" preachers whose sermons sound biblical but who don't believe the Bible is literally true. Albert Mohler Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist…
Author describes what having an autistic child taught her about God
CINCINNATI (ABP) — Now a nationally recognized author and speaker in the field of disability ministry, Kathleen Deyer Bolduc says she was unprepared to parent a special-needs child before the birth of her third son. Now 24, Joel has autism,…