WASHINGTON (RNS) — The national motto “In God We Trust” will move from the edge of new dollar coins honoring U.S. presidents to the front or back of the currency. A provision in the $555 billion domestic spending bill for…
High-tech audio Bibles bring Scriptures to life, users say
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (RNS) — Often when Mike Sheppard listens to the stories of the Crucifixion or Mary's discovery of the empty tomb, he gets so distracted he almost forgets he's behind the wheel. “There are points in the New Testament…
CBF to lease former Ga. Baptist building
ATLANTA (ABP) — A leading moderate Baptist group has signed a 10-year lease with Mercer University for offices previously occupied by the conservative Georgia Baptist Convention. The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship will lease much of the building from Mercer University, which…
Prayer heals honest Brit’s legs but cannot cure bureaucracy with no ‘miracle’ button
LONDON (RNS) — A British pastor's wife who claims the power of prayer cured her injuries was told her incapacity benefits could not be stopped because the government's computers didn't have a “miracle” button. As a result, June Clarke of…
Al Gore named ‘Baptist of the Year’
(RNS) Former Vice President Al Gore has been named “Baptist of the Year” by EthicsDaily.com, the Web site of the Baptist Center for Ethics. “He has pressed for the global good with a compelling message about the danger of climate…
Investigators say arson unlikely in Jacksonville church fire
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (ABP) — There is no evidence of arson in the Dec. 23 fire that consumed the sanctuary of Hendricks Avenue Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Fla., but the destruction was so complete that the exact cause will likely never…
New Hampshire exit-poll statistics muddy picture of religious voters
WASHINGTON (ABP) — In the Jan. 8 New Hampshire primary, each party's newly minted front-runner didn't score as well among voters — religious or otherwise — as they did in the previous week's Iowa caucuses, according to exit-poll data. Hillary…
Vietnamese Baptists to hold first general conference
HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam (ABP) — Baptists in Vietnam will reach a milestone when they hold their first legal national conference Jan. 10-12. An expected 400 people from 13 southern provinces and cities are expected for the meeting in…
Attempt at dialogue with Muslims inspires further criticism of NAE
WASHINGTON (ABP) — The National Association of Evangelicals is under attack again from some prominent Christian conservatives, this time for its involvement in an attempt at Muslim-Christian dialogue. Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President Al Mohler, former presidential candidate Gary Bauer…
Christians in Kenya analyze violence, administer aid, as unrest continues
NAIROBI, Kenya (ABP) — Still-simmering violence sparked by disputed elections in Kenya continues to affect Baptist organizations and missionaries in the previously stable nation. Gunfire erupted Jan. 7 in Limuru, a small town less than half a mile from Kenya…
Opinion: Care about politics? Begin with the church
Politics is intoxicating, especially in election season, and especially in a time of such high drama in this particular presidential campaign. In future weeks, I will undoubtedly be writing about the elections of 2008. But in this first offering of…
Time to revamp discipleship methods? Some experts say, ‘Absolutely, yes’
(ABP) — More than two decades after he helped many Baptist churches breathe new life into discipleship training, Roy Edgemon believes it's time to take a new look at how churches make disciples. In the early 1980s, the Southern Baptist…