ATLANTA (ABP) — A $1 million grant is funding a new center at Mercer University’s McAfee School of Theology that aims to create a new paradigm for transitioning new ministers from the academic setting into the realities of local-church ministry….
U.S. religious groups square off over bill imposing new Iran sanctions
WASHINGTON (ABP) — With a key vote looming in the House of Representatives, religious leaders weighed in on both sides of the debate over new sanctions against Iran. Thirty-four conservative religious leaders, including the Southern Baptist Convention's top lobbyist, wrote…
Zondervan pulls kung fu book; Is it ‘Rickshaw Rally’ revisited?
WASHINGTON (RNS) — Evangelical publisher Zondervan has pulled a leadership book featuring a kung fu theme after Asian-American Christian leaders led an online protest against its imagery. The book, Deadly Viper Character Assassins: A Kung Fu Survival Guide for Life…
Conscience clauses not just about abortion anymore
WASHINGTON (RNS) — Faced with a request to give an unmarried female patient a prescription for birth control pills, Michele Phillips looked to her conscience for the answer. “I’m not going to give any kind of medication I see as…
Musicians and VeggieTales crew collect gift-filled boxes for children
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Christian recording artists teamed up with talking vegetables to collect 8 million gift-filled shoeboxes for children in more than 100 countries. Since its inception in 1993, Operation Christmas Child, a project of Samaritan’s Purse, has sought to…
RIGHT OR WRONG?: Legal vs. ethical
A co-worker insists that just because a workplace guideline is legal does not guarantee it is ethical. I maintain policies are neither legal nor ethical but should be understood as both-and. What do you think? In an ideal world, policies…
Christian students offer liquor-free tailgate parties on Alabama campus
AUBURN, Ala. (RNS) — Setting up on the grassy area outside their dorm, grilling burgers and distributing drinks, the young men known as College Kids Tailgate are like scores of other Auburn students on game day — full of good…
OUT LOUD
“One of the most amazing surprises of the presidency was the fact that people’s prayers affected me.” Former President George W. Bush The former president was quoted by the Washington Post. (RNS) “As Christians, we are asked to believe some…
German court rules against Sunday shopping, cites ‘day of rest’
BERLIN (RNS) — Constitutional provisions that declare Sunday a day of rest mean German merchants will have to significantly rein in the number of days they are open for business, Germany’s highest court ruled Dec. 1. The ruling was prompted…
SECOND OPINION: Is the Emerging Church threat or ally?
The tsunami of change that struck the Western world in the 20th century permanently altered the cultural landscape. The Emerging Church (EC) addresses this postmodern context. Most Baptists will have to jettison some modernist baggage to stay afloat in the…
Judge in Tajikistan orders Baptist church to close, citing violations
OSLO, Norway (ABP) — A judge in Tajikistan has ordered a Baptist church in the capital city, Dushanbe, to cease meetings in a private home, saying that housing codes and a new religion law require houses of worship to register…
HERITAGE: While in Fredericksburg
The Baptist General Association of Virginia has met three times in Fredericksburg but there is no one living who attended any of the meetings. The last one was held in 1874 and the thoughts on many minds were the hardships…