ATLANTA (ABP) — Author Tony Campolo challenged Baptists from across North America to examine which Jesus they preach — the one who incarnates American values or the one who incarnates God. Campolo, professor emeritus at Eastern University near Philadelphia, and…
Regain respect by rejecting exclusion, author Grisham urges fellow Baptists
ATLANTA (ABP) — The name “Baptist” is not widely respected in America “because for so long so many Baptists have worked so hard to exclude so many,” best-selling author and Baptist layman John Grisham said Jan. 31. Grisham told a…
After violence erupts again, Buckner cancels mission trips to Kenya until May
DALLAS (ABP) — All Buckner International mission trips to Kenya will be cancelled through May 2008, agency President Ken Hall said. The decision comes after violent unrest prompted by tainted presidential elections there Dec. 27. The announcement follows a previous…
Covenant organizers close gathering with determination but few specifics
ATLANTA (ABP) — “We don't want this to be a wasted moment,” Jimmy Carter said, describing the excitement and concern he said he found among participants in the first-of-its-kind New Baptist Covenant, which wrapped up its three-day gathering in Atlanta…
Baptist unity takes center stage as New Covenant meeting opens
ATLANTA (ABB) — Baptist unity took center stage during the opening night of the New Baptist Covenant convocation in Atlanta Jan. 30. About 10,000 African-American, Anglo, Asian-American and Hispanic Baptists gathered at the urging of former President Jimmy Carter and…
Baptist chaplains provide spiritual care to Marines at Camp Pendleton
CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. (ABP) — The 2000 suicide attack of the USS Cole in Yemen made Sunny Mitchell realize she wanted to become a Navy chaplain. “I knew some of the sailors on the Cole, and I wanted to be…
Baptists Mike Huckabee, Rick Warren to speak at preaching conference
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) — Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee and best-selling author Rick Warren, both ordained Southern Baptist pastors, will speak about how to use the pulpit to address political, social and cultural issues at a preaching conference in April….
Burleson, outspoken pastor and blogger, resigns from International Mission Board
GAINESVILLE, Fla. (ABP) — Wade Burleson, the prominent pastor and blogger who railed against what he saw as an excessive narrowing of parameters within the Southern Baptist Convention, has resigned from his position as a trustee of the SBC's International…
Unity the focus of Baptist gathering, organizers insist
ATLANTA (ABP) — If a spirit of unity prevails at the Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant, organizers of the historic interracial meeting said Jan. 30, they will consider the gathering a success. And participants in the event will remain…
RIGHT OR WRONG?
Our pastor-search committee said they want to find a person of integrity. That is such a loose concept. Just what does integrity look like, so we can recognize it in candidates for our church? Your pastor-search committee will need depth,…
Opinion: Worshiping with helmets
Recent reports about the age of messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention have alerted some to the “graying” of the convention. Specifically, the percentage of messengers aged 18-39 dropped from a high of 35.9 percent in 1985 to a low…
At final State of Union speech, would-be successors eclipse Bush
WASHINGTON (ABP) — In his valedictory State of the Union address Jan. 28, President Bush attempted to cement his legacy on a handful of issues important to religious voters while much of the nation focused on the race to choose…