WASHINGTON (ABP) — With the stroke of a pen Oct. 28, President Obama expanded federal hate-crimes laws to include sexual orientation and gender identity as protected categories, a goal for which gay-rights activists have been working for more than a…
Baylor withdraws proposal to alumni association
WACO, Texas (ABP) –Baylor University has withdrawn its invitation to move its autonomous alumni association in-house, citing lack of a positive response to a request that the group give up its independent nonprofit status and come under the authority of Baylor administration. Baylor…
Missouri Baptists delegate lawsuit discretion to executive board
RAYTOWN, Mo. (ABP) — The Missouri Baptist Convention broadened authority of its Executive Board to resolve ongoing lawsuits against five formerly related entities at the convention's 175th annual meeting Oct. 27. Messengers at First Baptist Church in Raytown, Mo., voted 764-226 to authorize the Executive…
Annual religious-freedom report cites concerns in familiar, new places
WASHINGTON (ABP) — An independent government panel that monitors global religious-freedom conditions thanked the State Department for its latest comprehensive report on the subject Oct. 26, but said the administration could move more boldly to protect freedom of conscience in…
SBC’s Land continues to warn about dealing with Iran
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) — The head of the Southern Baptist Convention Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission says the West should be wary of any commitment by Iran to reduce its ability to build nuclear weapons. "Iran has a long history…
State Department religious-freedom report cites concerns in familiar, new places
WASHINGTON (ABP) — An independent government panel that monitors global religious-freedom conditions thanked the State Department for its latest comprehensive report on the subject Oct. 26, but said the administration could move more boldly to protect freedom of conscience in…
Former Okla. pastor sentenced to 10 years for molestation
JAY, Okla. (ABP) — A former Southern Baptist pastor in Oklahoma has been sentenced to 10 years in prison after confessing to sexual abuse of a 15-year-old girl who attended his church. Josh Spires, 28, confessed to an "inappropriate, unlawful…
Town raises money to help families of church-beating victims
ANNA, Ill. (ABP) — Two women severely beaten in an attack at a small-town Baptist church continue to recover from their injuries while neighbors rally to support them. Residents of Anna, Ill., a town of about 5,000 people in the…
ABP honors Greg Warner with lifetime achievement award
DECATUR, Ga. (ABP) — Associated Baptist Press presented its inaugural Greg Warner Lifetime Achievement Award in Religious Journalism to the long-time executive editor of the independent news service who was forced by health issues to step down last year. "This…
ABP honors Greg Warner with lifetime achievement award
DECATUR, Ga. (ABP) — Associated Baptist Press presented its inaugural Greg Warner Lifetime Achievement Award in Religious Journalism to the long-time executive editor of the independent news service, forced by health issues to step down last year. Greg Warner accepts…
Next two CBF assemblies celebrate 20 years of ‘Fellowship movement’
DECATUR, Ga. (ABP) — The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship will stress community at the organization's 20th General Assembly June 24-25, 2010, in Charlotte, N.C. Daniel Vestal, executive coordinator of the Atlanta-based CBF, told members of the group's national Coordinating Council Oct….
Next two CBF assemblies to celebrate 20 years of ‘Fellowship movement’
DECATUR, Ga. (ABP) — The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship will stress community at the organization's 20th General Assembly June 24-25, 2010, in Charlotte, N.C. Daniel Vestal, executive coordinator of the Atlanta-based CBF, told members of the group's national Coordinating Council Oct….