AUSTIN, Texas (ABP) — Black Baptist leaders said Barack Obama’s election as the first African-American president of the United States does not mean Martin Luther King’s dream of racial justice has been fully realized — but it’s a lot closer…
Black Baptist leaders: Obama win
Experts: Obama win may signal
start of religious-voter shift
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Barack Obama’s election as president could signal waning influence by the Christian Right in American politics, according to several experts — but his improvements over previous Democratic nominees’ appeal to religious voters could also simply be a…
FCC bans some wireless microphones
WASHINGTON (BP) — After his church invested $250,000 in wireless technology, Chris Hinkle of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Dallas is concerned by the federal government's Aug. 21 vote to ban wireless microphones in the 700 megahertz band. “There are 75…
Blue Ridge marks 150 years of ministry
Messengers to the Blue Ridge Baptist Association celebrated a century-and-a-half of ministry as they gathered Oct. 23 at Fairystone Baptist Church. Many came dressed in period attire as they looked back in time to celebrate their most significant accomplishments. Guest…
GuideStone Services adds property & casualty insurance
DALLAS (BP) — This fall, many Southern Baptist churches and ministries will have access to property and casualty insurance and risk management services from GuideStone Agency Services. The GuideStone Property & Casualty (P&C) Program will gradually roll out regionally over…
Virginia churches asked to partner after Ike
BEAUMONT, Texas — New Beginnings Church is hoping it can live up to its name, and Virginia Baptists have been invited to help it do so. Hurricane Ike scattered the congregation, sending members evacuating to safer ground. The storm pulled…
Fighting in Congo creates humanitarian crisis
NEW YORK (ABP) — Escalating violence in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo is creating a “humanitarian crisis of catastrophic dimensions,” the head of the United Nations said Oct. 29. U.N. Secretary General Ban-Ki Moon called attention to the flare-up, which…
Special events at the annual BGAV meeting in Roanoke
• African American Fellowship Dinner: Nov. 10, 5-7 p.m., Flat Rock Grille, Valley View Mall, 5033 Valley View Blvd. Contact: Wayne Faison. • Bivocational Pastors and Staff Luncheon: Nov. 11, 12 noon-1:45 p.m., Roanoke Performing Arts Theatre (2nd floor, back…
Missionaries rejuvenate barn in Andean village
EDITOR'S NOTE: This year's Week of Prayer for International Missions, Nov. 30-Dec. 7, focuses on missionaries who serve in South America as well as churches partnering with them, exemplifying the global outreach supported by Southern Baptists' gifts to the Lottie…
EDITORIAL: The gifts of the Spirit
As you have seen, the theme of this issue is the “Holy Spirit.” I first began to think seriously about the Holy Spirit during my childhood. The female relatives on my mother's side became Pentecostals after Mom left home to…
Azerbaijan pastor tried on Oct. 31
WASHINGTON (BWA) — Hamid Shabanov, a Baptist pastor in Azerbaijan who was arrested on June 20, faced trial on Oct. 31. He is charged with the illegal possession of a weapon. Shabanov is the second Baptist pastor in the town…
Mississippi churches tackle Delta’s poverty
ATLANTA — Of all the places Courtney Allen thought she'd be during a summer ministry in Greenville, Miss., standing in rubber boots in raw sewage wasn't one of them. But a local family desperately needed a functioning bathroom, and someone…