(ABP) — I've got to be brutally honest; I'm not a Rob Bell fan, although many of my students are. He has two best-selling books: Velvet Elvis: Repainting the Christian Faith (2005) and Sex God: Exploring the Endless Connections between…
Pass the Popcorn: Popular culture challenges Christians to ‘think outside the box’
HOUSTON (ABP) — It can be difficult to hear God's word in today's media-saturated culture of iPods, YouTube, satellite radio, and DirecTV with over 500 channels and on demand movies. That's the conclusion reached by two culture observers on the…
Tickets for Annual ABP Dinner at CBF
Join us for the Annual Associated Baptist Press Dinner at the CBF General Assembly: “Giving Voice to Truth in the Race-tinged South” Thursday, June 19, 2008, 5:30 – 7:15 p.m., $36 per person Ballroom B, Memphis Cook County Convention Center…
UPDATE: Texas court rules against seizure of polygamist sect’s children
SAN ANGELO, Texas (ABP) — The state of Texas had no right to remove some — if not all — of the more than 460 children taken from their polygamist parents, a state appeals court ruled May 22. It was…
McCain rejects Hagee’s endorsement over televangelist’s Hitler comments
(ABP) — After months of pressure to reject the endorsement of conservative televangelist John Hagee, presumptive Republican presidential nominee John McCain finally did so May 22 after the preacher’s views on Hitler raised new controversy. In a decade-old sermon, reported…
IRS clears United Church of Christ of wrongdoing in Obama speech
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Barack Obama's denomination did nothing wrong in hearing a speech from the Democratic presidential candidate, the Internal Revenue Service has told officials of the United Church of Christ. The denomination announced the move on its website May…
BWA, Samaritan’s Purse make inroads to assist storm survivors
FALLS CHURCH, Va. (ABP) — Baptist World Aid, the relief and development arm of the Baptist World Alliance, is working through six relief camps in cyclone-devastated Burma (also known as Myanmar), while a United States-based organization readies an airlift to…
Appeals court again overturns Virginia ‘partial-birth’ ban
RICHMOND, Va. (ABP) — Despite a recent Supreme Court decision upholding a federal ban on a kind of late-term abortion procedure, a federal appeals court has again overturned a similar statewide ban in Virginia because it could limit far more…
IMB regional director resigns over policy disagreements
RICHMOND, Va. (ABP) — A high-ranking Southern Baptist Convention International Mission Board employee resigned May 5 because he disagrees with policies governing missionary qualifications. Rodney Hammer, IMB's regional leader for Central and Eastern Europe, cited disagreement with policies disallowing missionary…
Prestonwood minister resigns after arrest in online sex sting
DALLAS (ABP) — An associate minister at a Dallas megachurch was arrested in Bryan, Texas, while trying to meet face to face with a “teen” he met online. A minister to adults at Prestonwood Baptist Church, Joe Barron, 52, of…
American Baptists launch fund to battle global food crisis
VALLEY FORGE, Penn. (ABP) — American Baptist Churches USA has launched a fund drive to provide money to help ministry partners in poor areas deal with the rising costs of basic foodstuffs. ABC International Ministries started the Global Crisis Food…
American Baptists launch fund to battle global food crisis
VALLEY FORGE, Penn. (ABP) — American Baptist Churches USA has launched a fund drive to provide money to help ministry partners in poor areas deal with the rising costs of basic foodstuffs. ABC International Ministries started the Global Crisis Food…