BLUEFIELD — Bluefield College began the fall 2009 semester with a 22 percent increase in new student enrollment and the highest new traditional student figures since the fall of 2006. Traditional new student numbers at BC — including new freshmen,…
Former BWA president Nilson Fanini dies
BEDFORD, Texas (ABP) — Nilson Fanini, a Brazilian Baptist pastor who led the Baptist World Alliance from 1990 to 1995, died Sept. 19 after a brief illness. Fanini, 77, was hospitalized Sept. 13 with pneumonia while visiting a new granddaughter…
Church-state groups press Holder to withdraw Bush-era hiring memo
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Supporters of the separation of church and state are urging Attorney General Eric Holder to fulfill a campaign promise by President Obama to combat religious discrimination in hiring. The Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty and the…
Florida principal, athletic director not guilty of contempt of court
PENSACOLA, Fla. (ABP) — A federal judge in Florida ruled Sept. 17 that a blessing at an athletic banquet did not violate her court order telling a school district's leaders to refrain from promoting religious activity at school events. Following…
Open mission positions may be ‘God moment,’ says SBC task force chair
ROGERS, Ark. (ABP) — Impending vacancies in the top leadership positions of the Southern Baptist Convention’s two mission boards offer unique opportunities for the denomination, says the chair of a task force examining how the SBC should most effectively structure…
Theologian-scientist says there are pathways between two disciplines
ATLANTA (ABP) — There are paths between science and theology, and both can find value in interaction, noted author and professor of science and theology Robert Russell told an audience at Mercer University's McAfee School of Theology Sept. 15. Robert…
Most religiously conservative states have highest teen birth rates
PHILADELPHIA (ABP) — Teenage birth rates tend to be higher in states that are more religiously conservative, possibly because communities in those places discourage contraception, according to a national study. An article in the open-access journal Reproductive Health reported a…
Rankin: Future of SBC missions includes focus on direct involvement
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (ABP) — Baptist congregations will increasingly take on more direct responsibility for international missions, freeing full-time missionaries to focus their energies in countries that restrict Christian evangelism, says the retiring executive of the Southern Baptist Convention’s International Mission…
British Baptists visit China with view to re-establishing Baptist work
DIDCOT, England (ABP) — More than a half-century after the last missionaries left the country, a delegation of British Baptists is visiting China to explore re-establishing work in the world's most populous nation. A team representing BMS World Mission and…
Future of mission includes direct church role, says retiring IMB chief
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Baptist congregations will increasingly take on more direct responsibility for international mission, freeing full-time missionaries to focus their energies in countries that restrict Christian evangelism, says the retiring executive of the Southern Baptist Convention’s International Mission Board….
Open mission positions may be ‘God moment,’ says SBC task force chair
ROGERS, Ark. — Impending vacancies in the top leadership positions of the Southern Baptist Convention’s two mission boards offer unique opportunities for the denomination as it considers new ways to engage its mission enterprise, says the chair of a task…
IMB President Jerry Rankin announces retirement plans
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (ABP) — Jerry Rankin, 67, has announced that he will retire next year after 17 years as president of the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. Rankin announced his plans to step down — at the…