KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (ABP) – A kidnapped aid worker from a Baptist background and her Afghan driver are believed dead, according to the agency that supported them. Cydney Mizell, 50, and Muhammad Hadi, whose age is unknown, were taken at gunpoint…
Grassley targets ministries’ alleged abuse of tax laws
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Sen. Chuck Grassley insists he's not trying to impose his Baptist theology on Pentecostal and Charismatic ministries; he simply wants them to obey the tax laws. The Iowa Republican has drawn fire for using his position as…
Signs of stability in Kenya mean mission trips resume
NAIROBI, Kenya (ABP) — The signing of a peace agreement in Kenya — and reports of stabilization throughout the area — have led Buckner International to announce it will resume sending volunteer mission groups to Kenya this summer. “This is…
Follow the money: Church budgets reveal priorities, but which ones?
DALLAS (ABP) — Most observers of congregational life agree: A person can tell a lot about a church by looking at its budget. But exactly which conclusions can be drawn about a church's priorities remains an open question. “It's a…
Circumcision: Cutting out the sign of the covenant?
NEW YORK (ABP) — The foundational symbol of God's ancient covenant with his people is getting a lot less common in the United States, but medical and theological debates still rage about the propriety of circumcision. Recent legal battles over…
Follow the money: Cash receipts present challenges for churches
DALLAS (ABP) — When it comes to church finances, donations in cash form present one of the greatest challenges for churches, experts say. Roger Hall, a part-time business administrator for First Baptist Church in Waxahachie, Texas, said the biggest risk…
New Baptist Covenant: Respond to critics with spirit of love, Clinton says
Billy Howard Former president Bill Clinton encourages Baptist Christians to love one another despite differences on a new journey of unity. ATLANTA (ABP)-The only way for a broad group of Baptists to move toward their goal of unity is with…
Let’s get organized: How should churches structure leader groups?
FRESNO, Calif. (ABP) — Deserved or not, committees — especially in Baptist life — often conjure negative connotations. The term is borrowed from government and corporate culture, says Don Simmons, owner of Creative Potential Consulting and Training, a management and…
Opinion: The deeper wellsprings of centrist evangelicalism
(ABP) — Discussion of the concept of an emerging evangelical center (or some other label for an alternative to the Christian Right) has taken off in recent months — indeed, in recent weeks. Hardly a day goes by without some…
Obama speech to denomination spurs IRS investigation of UCC
WASHINGTON (ABP) — A speech that Barack Obama made last year to his fellow Congregationalists has spurred an Internal Revenue Service investigation that threatens the tax-exempt status of an entire denomination. Leaders of the Illinois senator's United Church of Christ…
Abstinence compromise means AIDS relief bill back on track
WASHINGTON (ABP) — A bill that would more than triple the amount of money the United States spends combating the AIDS pandemic got a boost Feb. 27 with a compromise over abstinence-focused prevention efforts and abortion. House leaders and White…
Opinion: Marriage in the marketplace
I don't wish to be thought unperceptive, but apparently the world I had always known has ended without my being aware of it. The occasion for this epiphany was a radio ad for car insurance. This commercial took the form…