NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) — A total of 140 moderate Baptist leaders signed a June 18 letter urging passage of a comprehensive energy bill that includes caps on emissions linked to global warming. Drafted by the Baptist Center for Ethics, a…
Transformed lives — not just sobriety — the goal of recovery ministries
Terry Walker fell to his knees in the shower stall of a South Texas substance abuse treatment center, crying out to God for release from the chains of addiction. “God blessed me with the gift of desperation,” Walker said. “At…
Graduation rates at religious schools outpace those at other universities
WASHINGTON (RNS) — Religiously affiliated universities rank the highest nationwide in graduating their students, while hundreds of public and private universities fall far below the low average of graduated students, according to a recent report based on data from the…
Young pastors urge CBF supporters to ‘embrace the world’
HOUSTON (ABP) — Participants at the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship general assembly heard a visceral call to embrace the world — and all their neighbors — in worship. Taylor Sandlin, pastor of Southland Baptist Church in San Angelo, Texas, helps participants…
FAITH DIGEST
German Muslims more numerous than suspected. Germany has nearly a million more Muslims than previous estimates, a new study showed. The Federal Office for Migration and Refugees in Germany concluded up to 4.3 million people — 5 percent of Germany’s…
Report: One-third of scientists believe in God
WASHINGTON (RNS) — Only a third of scientists say they believe in God, according to a new survey, and while 18 percent believe in a high power, four in 10 scientists believe in neither. The report was released July 9…
Domestic missionaries seeking new converts online
ORLANDO, Fla. — For centuries, missionaries have ventured to the farthest reaches of the globe to share the gospel. Today, the new mission field is just a mouse click away. Some 2 million surfers a day type keywords like “God”…
Shuttered stores find new life as churches
HUNTLEY, Ill. (RNS) — At Prime Outlets in Huntley, Ill., a former fine china store will become the home of Christian Life Church. “This provided an opportunity, from moving from being kind of a homeless church, if you will, to…
ABCUSA delegates reject bylaw changes
PASADENA, Calif. (ABP) — While celebrating the denomination’s broad ethnic, regional and language diversity at their biennial meeting June 26-28, members of the American Baptist Churches USA also exhibited their ideological diversity. Delegates, meeting in Pasadena, Calif., torpedoed a major…
RIGHT OR WRONG?
How can I share my Christian faith with my Muslim neighbor without offending him? If Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan today in America, he probably would tell the parable of the Good Muslim. The same types of…
Baptist school cancels mission trip for church dismissed from SBC
FORT WORTH, Texas (ABP) — A Kentucky Baptist university has, at the last minute, withdrawn its invitation to host a youth mission team from Texas after the Southern Baptist Convention disfellowshipped their church for its toleration of homosexuals. Brent Beasley,…
OUT LOUD
“The relationships that are being built mean everything. … When an evangelical Christian gets to know a Muslim, the whole defense of Islam has stepped up to a higher level because … you’re no longer talking about a religion. You’re…