DIDCOT, England (ABP) — A delegation of British Baptists is set to apologize, in person, to Jamaican Baptists for the trans-Atlantic slave trade. During a May 22-29 stay, the delegation plans to meet with Jamaican Baptists and worship in their…
Baptists continue to respond as tolls rise in China, Myanmar
(ABP) — Baptists continue to mobilize supplies and prayer in an effort to minister to victims of natural disasters in China and Myanmar. Latest news reports May 19 indicated the death toll in China had risen to 34,000, with 220,000…
Wiley Drake cleared in IRS probe, but vows further endorsement
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Southern Baptist pastor-personality Wiley Drake did not violate tax law by using his church's letterhead or his radio show to endorse Mike Huckabee, he announced May 18. Drake, pastor of the 75-member First Southern Baptist Church in…
Baptists, other Christians already in China beat limits on foreign help
WASHINGTON (ABP)—While China has accepted a very limited number of foreign-aid workers in the wake of the disastrous earthquake that devastated much of Sichuan province, Baptists and other Christians from the United States already were situated to help. According to…
Iraq status reportedly divides panel on religious freedom
WASHINGTON (ABP)—An independent, nonpartisan federal panel’s failure to issue a recommendation to the State Department about Iraq reportedly is due to political division. The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom released its annual report and recommendations in early May….
Baylor President John Lilley’s future in doubt after meeting
WACO, Texas (ABP) — John Lilley may be the latest endangered leader at the world's largest Baptist school, according to reports in the local newspaper. The Waco Tribune-Herald reported May 17 that Baylor University leaders declined to discuss whether the…
Abundant field of SBC candidates may signal relaxed political reins
INDIANAPOLIS (ABP) — Candidates are lining up two-by-two for this year's Southern Baptist Convention presidency, like animals filing into Noah's Ark – two big-church pastors, two small-church pastors, two former missionaries. For the first time in almost three decades, six…
Baptists, other Christians already in China beat limits on foreign help
WASHINGTON (ABP) — While China has accepted a very limited number of foreign-aid workers in the wake of the disastrous earthquake that devastated much of Sichuan province May 12, several Baptists and other Christians from the United States were already…
Blogs become Baptist battleground
WASHINGTON (ABP) — One classic joke about Baptists is that wherever two or three are gathered, there are four opinions among them. The same can be said of bloggers, and Baptists seem to have taken to blogs with particular gusto,…
British Baptists urged to fight global warming
BLACKPOOL, England (ABP) — British Baptists heard warnings against overconsumption and further degradation of the environment during their annual meeting May 2-4 in Blackpool, Lancashire. Theologian Elaine Storkey told members of the British Union of Great Britain to reject “false…
Gay marriage moves ahead in Calif. after state Supreme Court ruling
SAN FRANCISCO (ABP) — Sixty years after their predecessors handed down a landmark decision allowing interracial marriages, the California Supreme Court justices May 15 did the same for same-sex marriage, overturning a statewide ban on the controversial practice. The decision…
Looking for guidelines for Christian blogs? Start with the New Testament
The New Testament book of James compares the tongue to raging fire and a wild beast that cannot be tamed. And the author of that book never was “flamed” on a blog or in a chat room. Words have power,…