SAN ANTONIO (ABP) — Five weeks in North Carolina undid a lifetime of atheism for Tatiana Ceban. Nearly 14 years later, she is helping a Baptist agency craft a transitional living program for youth who have aged out of government-run…
CBF agrees to lease former Georgia 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…
Leader who warned of Islamic takeover hired to aid SBC’s world-mission effort
RICHMOND, Va. (ABP) — David Clippard, the former Missouri Baptist Convention executive who earned national headlines when he said Islam has a plan to “conquer and occupy” the United States, was hired Dec. 10 by the Southern Baptist Convention's world-missions…
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.,…
Author John Grisham joins lineup of New Baptist Covenant speakers
ATLANTA (ABP) — Mega-author John Grisham, whose recent novels have revealed his deeply rooted Christian faith, will deliver a rare public speech at the New Baptist Covenant meeting in late January. Grisham, a member of University Baptist Church in Charlottesville,…
Former atheist shapes youth program through Baptist agency in Moldova
SAN ANTONIO (ABP) — Five weeks in North Carolina undid a lifetime of atheism for Tatiana Ceban. Nearly 14 years later, she is helping a Baptist agency craft a transitional living program for youth who have aged out of government-run…
Happy new year?
When does the New Year begin? For Christians observing the church calendar, the new year began Dec. 2, with the start of the Advent season. The liturgical year is an “or-derly way to look at the full scope of Christian…
FAITH DIGEST
Court rejects faith-based prison program. An Iowa prisoner rehabilitation program run by evangelicals oversteps church-state boundaries and should not receive government funds, a federal appeals court has ruled. InnerChange Freedom Initiative runs a program “dominated by Bible study, Christian classes,…
Fair-trade items offer Christmas gifts with a conscience
NEW YORK (ABP)—What's the perfect revenge for the flannel-lined hot-water bottle Aunt Sharon gave you last year? Or the Michael Bolton CD from your brother-in-law? Maybe a toilet. Or an ox. A bag of seeds would work, for that matter….