As a first year student at the University of Virginia in the fall of 2006, I was approached by my Baptist collegiate minister, Leanne Sanders, with an idea: she felt called by God to begin an international student ministry at…
Virginia Baptist ministry partners in India complete, dedicate new children’s home
KOTTAYAM, India — At the invitation of Kunjumon Chacko, 13 Virginia Baptists traveled to Kottayam, India, to celebrate the completion and participate in the dedication of the new Precious Children's International Village. Although the dining hall and first dormitory are…
Fort Worth congregation subject of latest Internet-fueled struggle
FORT WORTH, Texas (ABP) — The latest prominent Baptist church caught in a highly publicized, Internet-fueled controversy is a historically moderate one — and similar struggles may await other moderate congregations. Members of Broadway Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas,…
Ed Young says he didn’t argue with Clinton about Bible literality
NEW YORK (ABP) — Bill Clinton may have had Ed Young confused with another Southern Baptist pastor or may simply have chosen to remember a 1993 encounter falsely when he spoke to a group of Baptists several weeks ago, according…
Opinion: Emerging evangelical center may decide 2008 election
Last summer I completed a book arguing that an evangelical center is emerging in American life and that it shows signs of displacing the vaunted but fading “Christian right” in the hearts and minds of American evangelicals–especially among younger and…
Post-Covenant criticism comes from left, right
NEW YORK (ABP) — Although organizers hailed a recent pan-Baptist gathering as a success, a handful of critics have leveled a wide array of charges against the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant. The critics of the event, held in…
Rep. Tom Lantos, champion of religious freedom, dies
WASHINGTON (ABP) — One of Congress' staunchest defenders of international religious freedom has died. Rep. Tom Lantos (D-Calif.) died Feb. 11 at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., reportedly of complications from esophageal cancer. The 80-year-old Lantos had…
Opinion: An economy of scale to pursue edification, discernment
I recently had the privilege of enjoying the hospitality of the Englewood Christian Church of Indianapolis. This congregation isn't as well known as Saddleback, nor has its pastor (Michael Bowling) ever been interviewed by Larry King, but its story is…
Opinion: Torture is the bone caught in America’s throat
It is clear to me that the problem of torture is like a bone caught in our national throat. We can't swallow it, but we can't quite spit it out. And so we are choking on it. The sound of…
Huckabee endorsement brings IRS investigation of Wiley Drake
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Outspoken California pastor and former Southern Baptist Convention officer Wiley Drake is being investigated by the Internal Revenue Service. The candidate for the SBC presidency this year is under scrutiny for using his church letterhead and church-sponsored…
Surgery causes Al Mohler to bow out of SBC race
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (ABP) — Al Mohler, president of Southern Baptists' oldest seminary and spokesman for conservative social causes, will bow out of the race to head the nation's largest Protestant denomination, according to a Feb. 14 statement. Mohler will undergo…
Religious voters in ‘Potomac Primary’ boost Obama, protest McCain
WASHINGTON (ABP) — In the latest presidential primary contests, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama improved his position among Catholics on the Democratic side while most white evangelicals chose not to vote for Arizona Sen. John McCain, even though he is now…