DALLAS (ABP) – It’s not just your imagination. Men are disappearing from the church. According to the Barna Research Group, there are 11 million to 13 million more American women who are born again than there are born-again men. While…
ABC-USA proposes changes to focus on mission, churches
VALLEY FORGE, Pa. (ABP) — Leaders of the American Baptist Churches USA are proposing changes to the denomination’s governing structure that aim to encourage greater missional empowerment and broader involvement of affiliated churches. The ABC General Board considered the proposal…
Declaration responds to torture-policy shift
(ABP) — For years in foreign-policy circles, the United States was regarded as the world’s premier protector of individual liberty, promoter of democracy and champion of human rights. But terrorist attacks on U.S. soil on Sept. 11, 2001, created a…
Daniel Vestal counters BP column that said CBF not ‘truly Christian’
ATLANTA (ABP) — Why would some Baptist writers go out of their way to create the impression that the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship is not even Christian? CBF Executive Coordinator Daniel Vestal said he is trying to answer that question after…
John Templeton, religious philanthropist, dead at 95
NASSAU, Bahamas (ABP) — Sir John Marks Templeton, religious philanthropist and founder of an annual award that honors innovation in religion, died of pneumonia July 8 in Nassau, Bahamas. He was 95. Perhaps most widely known for the Templeton Prize…
Carson-Newman names Baylor Provost Randall O’Brien president
JEFFERSON CITY, Tenn. (ABP) — Veteran Baylor University professor and administrator Randall O’Brien has been named president of Carson-Newman College. Trustees of the Jefferson City, Tenn., school elected him July 8. O’Brien will assume full-time duties Jan. 1, 2009, after…
Economy may affect churches in ways other than giving
(ABP) — The bottoming markets, soaring gas and food prices and a steady stream of home foreclosures may be affecting other sectors of the economy, but that doesn’t mean church budgets will necessarily feel the pinch. But local congregations may…
Need balanced view of media
Why would the Religious Herald publish an article like “Pass the Popcorn” [May 29] that contains a secular view of entertainment media without balancing that view with spiritual commentary from respected Christian leaders and teachers? The article “Pass the Popcorn”…
DOLLARS & SENSE
When you are driving keep in mind this cost savings tip: Never exceed the legal speed limit. Primarily they are set for your traveling safety; however, better gas efficiency also occurs. Traveling at 55 mph gives you up to 21…
Churches breaking sacred silence in a hookup culture
CLEVELAND (RNS)—Some of Antonio James' classmates laugh when they learn the 15-year-old has pledged not to have sex until he marries. It's not just male bravado that puts pressure on the 6-foot-1, 219-pound football player to be sexually active. “There's…
FAITH SHAPERS: Teaching tricky topics: Where does God live?
Have you ever thought about how confusing it must be for children when we talk about where God is? Although we rarely sit them down to talk about God's location, they pick up ideas from things we say. We tell…
Third World faith: The new center of Christianity
Laughter, tambourines and native instruments fill the air of a tiny apartment as a small group of Christians gather for fervent worship. Despite the oppression they have experienced under Islam and the Soviet system, these Central Asian Christians dance and…