KANSAS CITY, Mo. (ABP) — Windermere Baptist Conference Center acted within its legal rights when it changed its articles of incorporation, a Missouri appellate court ruled Feb. 3. A three-judge panel of the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District, unanimously…
First regional New Baptist Covenant event focuses on reconciliation
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (ABP) — Former President Jimmy Carter went to a shrine of the Civil Rights Movement Jan. 31 to drive home a point about racial reconciliation among Baptists, stepping up into the pulpit of the Birmingham, Ala., church where…
Obama picks religious adviser DuBois for faith-based post; questions remain
WASHINGTON (ABP) — President Obama has selected a 26-year-old Pentecostal minister who served as his top religion adviser during the presidential campaign to head a revamped White House office on faith-based social services. Critics of President Bush’s attempt to expand…
Opinion: God as athletic director
(ABP) We have all seen it. A football player makes a big play, scores the winning touchdown, drops to one knee and points a finger towards the heavens. What does it mean when in a moment of success a player…
Recession forces cutbacks at Southern Baptist agencies
DALLAS (ABP) — Several Southern Baptist Convention entities are tightening the belt in response to budget shortfalls in a flagging economy. GuideStone Financial Resources said Jan. 27 it just implemented a hiring freeze and is giving no raises to employees, with…
SECOND OPINION: Alright, kids. Time to grow up
President Obama's inaugural address might not have been one for the ages. But it certainly was the right one for the moment. Somber, sober and almost stern, our new president placed a mantle before the nation and gave us a…
Kentucky Baptist newspaper names South Carolinian editor
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (ABP)—Kentucky Baptists have tapped veteran denominational journalist Todd Deaton to become the next editor of their historic newspaper, the Western Recorder. Deaton, 45, has been managing editor of the Baptist Courier, newspaper of the South Carolina Baptist Convention,…
OUT LOUD
“It is a nation with a lot of Christians in it. And I'm proud to be one of them. But it is not a Christian nation.” Bishop T. D. Jakes The author and pastor of The Potter's House in Dallas…
Southern Seminary cuts 35 positions
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP)—Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, in response to the national economic downturn, has reduced its administrative staff by 35 positions: 20 full-time and 15 part-time, effective Jan. 30. Each person will receive a severance package, including placement assistance, according…
HERITAGE: A man who cared
Bill Jenkins once was described as “firm, fair and faithful.” Roland Byrd, the long-time Baptist campus minister at Virginia Tech, who was describing his former boss and mentor in ministry, said, “Bill encouraged us and helped us to do what…
NAMB enacts spending slowdown
ALPHARETTA, Ga. (BP)—In remarks to some 250 staff members of the North American Mission Board on Jan. 8, President Geoff Hammond asked NAMB team leaders to operate at 90 percent of their approved budgets during 2009. However, Hammond said funds…
Anti-abortion forces seek government funding cuts for Planned Parenthood
WASHINGTON (RNS)—Undeterred by solid Democratic gains in November's national elections, religious conservatives who oppose abortion are going on the offensive with a new weapon—a sick economy. In its largest-ever state-based initiative, the Family Research Council is contacting every state lawmaker…