WASHINGTON (ABP) — Longtime GOP Rep. Henry Hyde (Ill.), a champion of the anti-abortion movement who also earned unwanted attention for his role during President Clinton's impeachment, is dead at 83. The office of House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio)…
American Baptist theologian becomes first black woman to head association
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (ABP) — An American Baptist theologian has become the first African-American woman elected president of the nation's largest professional society for religion professors. Emilie Townes, the Andrew Mellon Professor of African-American Religion and Theology at Yale Divinity…
President of Oral Roberts University resigns amid misspending allegations
TULSA, Okla. (ABP) — Just days after Richard Roberts resigned from his position as president of Oral Roberts University, regents there are scrambling to find someone else to fill the post. Roberts resigned Nov. 23 in a letter sent to…
Veteran Baptist journalist Roy Jennings dies at age 83
GERMANTOWN, Tenn. (ABP) — Veteran Southern Baptist journalist Roy Jennings died Nov. 22. He was 83. Jennings is best known in Southern Baptist circles for his work as news editor in the newsrooms at the annual meetings of the Southern…
Baptists give aid in Bangladesh as cyclone’s death toll rises
KANAINAGAR, Bangladesh (ABP) — Baptists joined an international relief effort in Bangladesh after a cyclone killed more than 3,400 people in the Ganges River delta along the Bay of Bengal. Baptist World Aid, the relief and development arm of the…
On 200th anniversary of slave trade, British Baptists apologize for slavery
SWANWICK, England (ABP) — Baptists in Britain have apologized for their role in the slave trade. The Council of the Baptist Union of Great Britain, observing the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade, passed an apology…
Experts: Stem-cell breakthrough may not end short-term debate
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Although religious conservatives have cheered the Nov. 20 announcement of a breakthrough in stem-cell research, the moral controversy over the practice may not end any time soon. The announcement — made by independent teams of scientists working…
Return to Mount Hermon
On a magnificent fall Sabbath earlier this year, William E. Hatcher enjoyed a return to Mount Hermon Baptist Church in his native Bedford County. The occasion was the church's 220th anniversary. The church was packed with members, former members and…
Church building ministry at work in 45 countries
HAMPTON — Dois Rosser claims that his story is not a testimony of what one man can do for Christ. Rather, he says it is a testimony of what God can do with one man. Dois Rosser isn't a preacher….
FAITHSHAPERS: Pitfalls of punishment (1)
Punishment is a touchy topic, isn't it? When I was young, schoolteachers could take a child in the hall and paddle them. I still remember, quite vividly, our assistant principal visiting the class to let us see his large, carefully…
European indigenous mission project expands to 24 countries
WASHINGTON (BWA) — The European Baptist Federation, with the generous help of mission partners, has developed a mission project to facilitate evangelism and the planting of new Baptist churches in Europe and the Middle East. The Indigenous Mission Project, one…
Survey reveals lack of knowledge about First Amendment rights
WASHINGTON — Nearly two-thirds of Americans believe the Founding Fathers meant for the United States to be a Christian nation, and more than half believe the U.S. Constitution establishes a Christian nation, a national survey revealed. The survey also showed…