Evangelical scientist nominated to head national agency. Francis Collins, the researcher who mapped the human genome and navigated clashes between his Christian faith and science, has been nominated by President Obama to lead the National Institutes of Health. An atheist…
Leesburg couple faces harrowing experience as hostages in their own home
LEESBURG — Looking down the muzzle of a pistol held by a stranger in your own home changes the day’s priorities. It certainly did for Bob and Frances Belote on Friday, July 10. Both in their 80s, they had just…
Baptist Extension Board expands loan policy to assist churches struggling in flat economy
RICHMOND — Virginia Baptist churches which are struggling with financial shortfalls may find some relief as a result of a new policy adopted July 24 by the Baptist Extension Board. For the first time, the Extension Board is offering loans…
Looking for leaders: What’s a church to do?
When the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship held its general assembly recently in Houston, leaders documented a quiet shift that went almost unnoticed among the 2,000 people attending the annual meeting. For the first time, graduates of the theological schools that partner…
Episcopal presiding bishop terms individualistic salvation ‘heresy’ and ‘idolatry’
ANAHEIM, Calif. (ABP) — The presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church called the evangelical teaching that individuals can be right with God a “great Western heresy” that is behind many problems facing the church and the wider society. Presiding Bishop…
Christian schools report more closures, see increased drops in enrollment
A Colorado-based organization of Christian schools is reporting that more than 200 schools closed or merged in its last fiscal year. As of June 30, 186 schools had closed and 16 had merged, according to the Association of Christian Schools…
White House advisory council maps out faith-based plans
WASHINGTON (RNS) — Members of a new White House advisory council have mapped out plans to link government and religious groups, from interfaith service projects to regional town halls on fatherhood. Eboo Patel, founder of Chicago-based Interfaith Youth Core, said…
Pastor: National Guard, hospitals were prepared for church-bus crash
SHREVEPORT, La. (ABP) — Both a National Guard unit that responded at the scene of a July 12 church-bus accident and the hospital where most of the victims were taken had recently received training for situations similar to what actually…
Leland Center moves into Baptist World Alliance building
FALLS CHURCH, Va. (ABP) — A Baptist seminary serving students in the region of the nation’s capital has moved in with an organization that serves as Baptists’ international umbrella group. The John Leland Center for Theological Studies has moved its…
Anti-gay church says God hates the world
TOPEKA, Kan. (ABP) — An independent Baptist church best known for picketing military funerals with placards proclaiming “God hates fags” and “God hates America” is going global. Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan. — whose 75-member congregation is composed almost…
Researcher says hypocrisy not biggest obstacle to evangelism
A former seminary professor, Thom Rainer has led LifeWay Christian Resources since 2006. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) — People who don’t attend church are not too bothered by what they view as hypocrisy in the church, but there are some…
Leland Center moves into Baptist World Alliance building
FALLS CHURCH — Baptists’ presence in this Northern Virginia suburb just got bigger. The John Leland Center for Theological Studies has moved its main campus from Arlington to Falls Church, where it is leasing two floors in the Baptist World…