Criswell President Jerry Johnson DALLAS (ABP) — Criswell College President Jerry Johnson resigned Aug. 5, after a public clash with a powerful local pastor over the institution’s future. His resignation, accepted during a called session of the college trustees’ executive…
Celebrity Christians
RICHMOND — “Stay out of the limelight.” That's Amy Grant's advice to celebrities who don't want their personal failures aired in public. The successful Christian pop singer should know. After her very public divorce in 1999, details of her marital…
Anglican bishops say church ‘ridiculed’ as ‘the gay church’ because of actions
CANTERBURY, England (RNS) — Allowing same-sex blessings and an openly gay bishop in the U.S. have caused Anglicans to be “ridiculed” for belonging to “the gay church,” harmed interfaith relations and severely damaged the Anglican Communion, bishops at a once-a-decade…
Oprah’s unorthodox spirituality touches audience, but is it ‘twitter & twaddle’?
WASHINGTON (RNS) — Oprah Winfrey has become a catalyst for a new journalistic project and increasing news coverage by conservative Christians questioning and criticizing her spiritual beliefs. Some evangelical Christians have voiced alarm Winfrey is introducing the 46 million viewers…
Black bishops questions conservatives’ ties
CANTERBURY, England — For five years, conservative Episcopalians eager to escape their liberal American church have been building ties with African Anglicans half a world away. But they have few connections with black Americans in their own back yard, say…
The Gospel According to ‘the Boss’
BOSTON (RNS) — To millions of fans, he's “the Boss,” the blue-jeaned troubadour of the American heartland who finds nobility in the grind of daily life. Across 35 years in dozens of rock anthems, from Born to Run to Glory…
Muslims copy megachurch multi-site models
WASHINGTON (RNS) — Mosques across the country are beginning to use a model similar to the one used by some suburban and downtown megachurches, operating multiple sites to serve a large and dispersed congregation. Many of these “mosque chains” brand…
Virginia Baptists’ MC2 provides opportunities for doing missions
LYNCHBURG — Virginia Baptists' MC2 Missions Connection Celebration involves participants of all ages in doing missions. Each morning, youth and adult teams participated in mission/service projects throughout the Lynchburg area. Three projects from this year's MC2, held at Eagle Eyrie…
Athlete Strait seeks to set straight-and-narrow example
JACKSON, Tenn. — Cody Strait has traded red for blue, but his message is still about white — as in Christian purity. After four years with the Cincinnati Reds organization, Strait, from Sour Lake, was traded to the Kansas City…
Christian, Muslim leaders report progress at Yale talks
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (RNS) — Following up on a public exchange of letters last year about the need for Christian and Muslim understanding, leaders and scholars representing both faiths have begun the task of trying to make their calls more…
Children’s team launches Switzerland partnership
Interlaken, a beautiful city nestled between two lakes in the Alpine region of Switzerland, was the setting for the International Baptist Convention's annual summer assembly July 5-11. It was a special occasion as the IBC celebrated its 50th anniversary and…
Fredericksburg’s ‘non-sectarian’ prayers upheld
FREDERICKSBURG (ABP) — Sandra Day O'Connor has had her say again on an important church-state decision, in this case saying a Virginia city council's practice of offering non-sectarian prayers does not violate the United States Constitution. The retired U.S. Supreme…