LYNCHBURG, Va. (ABP) — The president of Liberty Theological Seminary has labeled a method used by Southern Baptist missionaries to spread the gospel in Muslim lands deceptive and heretical. In a podcast interview on the SBC Today blog, Ergun Caner…
Relief groups walk delicate line on spreading gospel, providing aid
WASHINGTON (RNS) — When night falls in Port-au-Prince, thousands of homeless Haitians find shelter beneath weatherproof plastic sheets emblazoned with the logo of Samaritan’s Purse, a group that’s zealous to spread Christianity worldwide. The 20-by-20-foot sheets offer a tangible way…
FAITH DIGEST
Billy Graham tops pastors’ list. Evangelist Billy Graham was named by American pastors as the United States’ most influential living preacher, according to a recent survey by LifeWay Research. The study, conducted last November, interviewed more than 1,000 Protestant pastors…
American Baptists seeking to raise $1 million for Haiti relief
VALLEY FORGE, Pa. (ABP) — American Baptist Churches USA has announced a fund-raising goal of $1 million for earthquake relief in Haiti. Steve James and other medical professionals provide care in the days following the earthquake (The Fellowship blog) The…
Virginia Baptists to field Haiti medical teams as snow postpones relief efforts
RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia Baptists will field two medical teams this month to aid victims of Haiti’s devastating earthquake and qualified volunteers are being sought to fill them, a disaster relief leader says. The announcement comes as contributions for relief…
String of Texas church fires reaches 10
LINDALE, Texas (ABP) — Two Baptist churches within three miles of each other burned Feb. 8, the ninth and 10th in a rash of suspicious church fires in East Texas since Jan. 1. Firefighters from several departments responded to a…
North Carolina Baptist Men plan long-term effort in Haiti
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (ABP) — Nearly a month into an intense and immediate response to Haitians injured and left homeless and hungry by the Jan. 12 earthquake, it still feels like the second day of a domestic disaster to Gaylon Moss,…
Pastor stays out of division reported among jailed Americans in Haiti
MERIDIAN, Idaho (ABP) — As news of dissension among 10 Baptists from the United States jailed in Haiti leaked into media reports, the pastor of five of the volunteer missionaries said his church continues to support and pray for the…
Va. Baptist college president suddenly steps down, cuts staff
BRISTOL, Va. (ABP) — Michael J. Puglisi unexpectedly resigned as president of Virginia Intermont College Jan. 25, apparently at the request of trustees of the Baptist-affiliated school. And in what college administrators and trustees said was a move unrelated to…
OUT LOUD
“I know some people won’t agree with it, but I think they can at least respect that I stand up for what I believe. I’ve always been very convicted of [his views on abortion] because that’s the reason I’m here,…
All churches in 20 Virginia associations complete ACP
Virginia Baptist leaders are acknowledging the 20 district associations affiliated with the Baptist General Association of Virginia in which all churches completed the 2009 Annual Church Profile (ACP). Leaders also have praised the contact persons who collected the information. Each…
Ministry helps wounded pastors stay in the pulpit
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (RNS) — The 2008 murder of 35-year-old Mashonda Griffin in her home was a blow to her fellow church members — especially when they learned one of the people charged in her death was a former parishioner…