GALVESTON, Texas (ABP) — Less than 24 hours after Hurricane Ike ravaged the Texas and Louisiana Gulf coasts Sept. 12, Baptist groups were mobilizing supplies and relief workers for the disaster zone. The massive storm — rated as a strong…
Megachurches are growing, but in different ways
Megachurches — known for their big buildings, big schools and big crowds — continue to grow, but a new study detects shifts in the way they are expanding. “The general growth pattern is that about 90 percent of megachurches report…
As Gulf hurricane disaster draws focus, relief continues for Carribbean victims
GONAIVES, Haiti (ABP) — Even as the attention of Americans turns to the disaster caused by Hurricane Ike in their own country, Baptist agencies are responding to massive devastation across the Caribbean islands, battered by three successive tropical cyclones since…
Former head of abuse panel blasts two Catholic cardinals
An Illinois Supreme Court justice who chaired a lay review board investigating the Catholic sex abuse scandal blasts the church and prominent cardinals in a new book, accusing them of dishonesty. Justice Anne M. Burke, who headed the National Review…
Baptist volunteers busy in Baton Rouge
ALEXANDRIA, La. (BP) — At the drive-through for a hot meal from a Southern Baptist feeding station, a woman said to a volunteer, “The Southern Baptists are always here when we need them ….” Many of the volunteers with the…
RIGHT OR WRONG
My husband and I are in our early 30s and have been married 11 years. We have no children because of my husband's infertility. Some friends have suggested his brother donate sperm so that I can get pregnant through in…
David Wilkinson to become ABP’s executive
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (ABP) — Veteran Baptist communicator David Wilkinson has been named executive director for Associated Baptist Press. Wilkinson, who currently serves as development director for the Baylor University School of Social Work, will replace current ABP Executive Editor Greg…
Diet-discipleship believers are convinced, ‘We are what we eat’
WASHINGTON (RNS) — When Marilyn Lorenz of Alma, Mich., talks about living out her faith in daily life, she starts by describing what's inside her refrigerator. The produce is grown on nearby farms, and the milk is organic and hormone-free….
Muslim policewoman argues for right to wear head scarf
PHILADELPHIA (RNS) — Just weeks after joining the Philadelphia Police Department in 1995, Kimberlie Webb converted to Islam and sought permission to wear a head scarf on the job. Her supervisors continually rejected her request over the years. Last year,…
Virginia Baptists disaster relief units ministering to hurricane victims
RICHMOND — Virginia Baptist disaster relief units are on the field in Texas following Hurricane Ike, reported Terry Raines, coordinator for mobile missions and disaster relief for the Virginia Baptist Mission Board. BP photo by John R. Kennedy Communities like…
FAITH DIGEST
Digital conservation of Dead Sea Scrolls started. Sixty years after their discovery, Israeli authorities have begun the process of conserving the Dead Sea Scrolls through digital technology. Israeli archaeologists said the project — now in its pilot stage — will…
SECOND OPINION: How do I spell trust? T-I-T-H-E
In the gospel, God has granted to believers many precious and magnificent promises, even that we may become partakers of the divine nature. And in this life he has promised to abundantly supply all our needs. Yet we live most…