LIMURU, Kenya (ABP) — Several students attending Wayland Baptist University's Kenya campus have lost family members in the recent violence that has plagued the nation. School administrators are monitoring the situation to determine whether to postpone the start of a…
Buckner postpones Kenya trips due to political unrest
DALLAS (ABP) — Buckner International, a Baptist family-service agency based in Texas, has postponed two mission trips to Kenya in light of political unrest there, officials said. Ethnic violence Jan. 1 followed a disputed presidential election. Thousands of Kenyans have…
BWA officials condemn violence against Christians in Indian state
FALLS CHURCH, Va. (ABP) — Baptists and other Christians in an overwhelmingly Hindu state in India fell victim to significant violence during the Christmas holiday, according to Baptist World Alliance officials. Attacks began Dec. 23 in the state of Orissa,…
SBC presidency showdown brewing after Mohler announces intention
(ABP) — Evangelical scholar and seminary president Al Mohler will be nominated for the Southern Baptist Convention presidency next June, but he likely will face opposition for the prominent post. Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky.,…
Election-spurred ethnic strife leads to arson massacre in Kenya church
WASHINGTON (ABP) — At least 30 people burned to death in a church in Kenya Jan. 1 after an election dispute touched off ethnic strife, according to multiple news reports. No reports have indicated religious overtones to the unrest in…
Queen Elizabeth II honors BWA president Coffey
WASHINGTON (ABP) — The president of the Baptist World Alliance became an officer of the Order of the British Empire Jan. 2. David Coffey, a Briton who has served as BWA's president since 2005, received the honor from Queen Elizabeth…
Dear ABP subscriber
Each year, Associated Baptist Press sends you about 700 news and feature stories. You receive them hot off the press, at the same instant as the editors of the daily newspapers, Baptist state papers and national magazines that subscribe to…
Hendricks Ave. Baptist sanctuary gutted by early-morning fire in Jacksonville
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (ABP) — The 50-year-old sanctuary of Hendricks Avenue Baptist Church, a leading moderate Baptist congregation in Jacksonville, was totally destroyed by fire Dec. 23. When the first of 70 firefighters arrived on the scene about 5 a.m. Sunday…
Leading insurer of churches won’t pay for property disputes
DES MOINES, Iowa (ABP) — One of the nation's three largest insurers of congregations has backed away from covering lawsuits filed as a result of church splits and denominational disputes. Since July, GuideOne Insurance of West Des Moines, Iowa, has…
Southeastern Seminary student charged with child sex abuse
RALEIGH, N.C. (ABP) — Police have charged a Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary student with sexually abusing a 10-year-old child at an after-hours YMCA program, re-emphasizing the growing problem of sex abuse among Southern Baptist clergy. It's not the first time…
Rob Bell: Christians shouldn’t fear controversy over doctrine
LOUISVILLE, Ky (ABP) — Rob Bell, pastor of Mars Hill Bible Church in Grand Rapids, Mich., has become a controversial figure among evangelical Christians. On a recent stop for his lecture tour, “The Gods Aren't Angry,” in Louisville, Bell sat…
Burleson lauded for helping professor fired by Southwestern for being female
MINNEAPOLIS (ABP) — One of Southern Baptists' most outspoken pastors has been recognized for his defense of women — although he does not personally feel women should serve as pastors. Wade Burleson, pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Enid, Okla.,…