WASHINGTON — Zaur Balaev, the Baptist pastor from Azerbaijan who was sentenced to two years in prison Aug. 8, has been released. Balaev was freed from prison on March 19. Balaev was convicted and sent to prison on charges that…
Bluefield College unveils new published history of the school
BLUEFIELD — Lighthouse on the Hill: The Bluefield College Story is now available for sale to the public. The book, the school's first published history since 1972, was originally unveiled to alumni, faculty, staff and students during the college's Homecoming…
BOOK REVIEW: Preaching doctrine that dances
Preaching a sermon in the Internet age comes pretty easily. In fact, spend just a few hours doing some research on your text, copy and paste from a few different sources, squeeze in a personal story or two and you…
Will Baptists be counted in the ‘evangelical center’?
If an “evangelical center” emerges from the current shake-up in American politics, will moderate Baptists be part of it? It depends on how comfortable moderate Baptists are with being considered “evangelicals” in the first place. Moderate and progressive Baptists certainly…
NBC leaders plan repeat but no new structure
ATLANTA (ABP) — Organizers of the recent New Baptist Covenant celebration are recommending a repeat of the historic pan-Baptist event in 2011 but not a new denomination or other permanent organization. The event drew an estimated 15,000 Baptists from across…
EDITORIAL: How far should understanding go?
If you are like me, you have grown weary of hearing the comments of Barack Obama's former pastor, Jeremiah Wright. Still, something about his comments and the story are so compelling that I can't leave them alone. I understand that…
Churches, with gas ‘buy-downs,’ ease neighbors’ pain at pumps
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (ABP) — When it comes to ministry in Jesus' name, relieving “oppression” takes many forms — including the oppression of today's gasoline prices. As gas prices hit record levels across the country, a growing number of churches are…
Freedom of the Spirit
Next week, on Friday, April 11, the University of Richmond inaugurates its ninth president, Edward Ayers, who is an historian by profession. Ever since its humble yet hopeful beginnings, the University of Richmond (as academy, seminary, college and, since 1920,…
Still hospitalized, prayer lifts student duo
JACKSON, Tenn. (BP) — David Wilson and Matt Kelley were among hundreds of Union University students who experienced the 10 seconds that it took for a tornado to devastate the campus. That night, Feb. 5, they found themselves trapped with…
SECOND OPINION: Can we at least talk about it?
I'm one of the few leaders in Baptist life with the freedom to talk openly and honestly about the complex theological, moral, pastoral, and public policy issues raised by homosexuality without destroying myself professionally. Because I hold a tenured professorship…
Judge dismisses lawsuit against Southwestern
FORT WORTH, Texas (ABP) — A federal judge has ruled that Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary's decision to fire a female Hebrew professor was akin to a church's decision to fire its pastor — and therefore outside the purview of the…
OUT LOUD
“Sen. Richard Lugar … is [a] member of our congregation, and I would hope that he would never be held accountable for everything I have said in the last 15 years. Why is there any assumption that a person in…