NEW YORK (ABP) — Christian leaders on Dec. 18 called on President-elect Barack Obama to ease travel restrictions to Cuba they say hinder religious work. Denominational and ecumenical leaders from a variety of faith groups said restrictions imposed in 2005…
Survey says most Americans believe in multiple paths to salvation
WASHINGTON (ABP) — A majority of American Christians believe that at least some non-Christian faiths can lead to eternal life, says a new survey by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life. Even among evangelicals, a branch of Protestant…
Southwestern Seminary cuts budget
FORT WORTH, Texas (ABP) — Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary has announced plans to cut its budget by about 10 percent — a reduction between $3.5 million and $4 million — in an effort to "protect the institution from future financial…
Oldest IMB emeritus missionary dies at 102
RICHMOND (BP) — The International Mission Board's oldest emeritus missionary, Howard McCamey, was honored in a memorial service in Dallas Dec. 5. He died Nov. 26 at age 102. Longtime members of Gaston Avenue Baptist Church in Dallas, Howard and…
Kentucky Baptist paper names journalist as 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…
NEW: Former SBC missionary accused of embezzling IMB funds now suspected in insurance sca
GULF SHORES, Ala. (ABP) — The International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention declined to press criminal embezzlement charges in 2005 against a man now accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars in an Alabama insurance scam. According…
Study says churches with WMU stronger supporters of SBC
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (ABP) — Southern Baptist churches that have Woman's Missionary Union organizations support the denomination's missions programs at significantly higher levels than congregations without WMU, according to an analysis of reported church giving. Tensions over several issues surfaced in…
President Bush discusses faith in TV interview
WASHINGTON (ABP) — In a television interview broadcast Dec. 8, President Bush said he doesn't know if God wanted him to be president, doubts the Bible is literally true, agrees you can believe in God and evolution simultaneously and believes…
William Jenkins, long-time Virginia Baptist board staffer, dies at 85
William H. Jenkins, for more than 30 years a staff member of the Virginia Baptist Mission Board, died Dec. 10. He was 85. At the time of his death, Jenkins was living in Arizona, where he had moved after retiring…
Bush admnistration leaves mark on faith-based funding
WASHINGTON (ABP) — President Bush's administration and a host of court rulings have indelibly altered the way that the federal government relates to religious charities, according to an analysis by experts on the subject. “The heart — the core —…
Virginia Baptists help feed the hungry through variety of worldwide programs
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization recently estimated that there are now 963 million hungry people worldwide. This number has increased by 40 million this year and is predicted to continue rising as the current global economic crisis plunges…
ERLC’s Richard Land compares President Bush to Harry Truman
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) — A prominent Southern Baptist leader has compared George W. Bush to Harry Truman, another president whose approval ratings dropped to the 20s in his final months in office but is now considered one of the greatest…