GREENSBORO, N.C. (ABP) – North Carolina Baptists expelled Myers Park Baptist Church in Charlotte from their statewide group because the church accepts gay members into leadership. The Executive Committee of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina ruled Nov. 12…
National Council of Churches gathers faith leaders to abolish genocide
NEW YORK (ABP) — Leaders from a number of Christian traditions met in New York Nov. 9 in an attempt to mobilize Christians to “reflect on their responsibility in the face of genocide.” Armenian, Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Lutheran, Methodist and…
Democrats, evangelical leaders work together on abortion-reduction bill
NEW YORK (ABP) — Democrats in the United States Senate are calling an abortion-reduction initiative a strong assertion of their “moral authority in a whole lot of areas.” That's according to Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), who helped lead the Nov….
Speaking at Baptist college, Laura Bush urges adults to be role models
DALLAS (ABP) — At a conference held at Dallas Baptist University, First Lady Laura Bush urged Americans to engage and encourage the country's youth. Bush spoke during a regional Helping America's Youth conference held at the school. She said today's…
McCracken, founder of prominent Christian music company, dies
WACO, Texas (ABP) — Jarrell McCracken, who founded one of the world's largest Christian entertainment companies, died Nov. 7. He was 79. The Baylor University graduate founded Word Inc. in 1951 in Waco, Texas. The company became prominent in the…
Corrections
Please make the following corrections: In the Nov. 7 ABP article “Chuck Poole returns to former pulpit after 4 years among city's poorest,” please remove the words “holds a doctorate and” from the 19th paragraph. In the 15th paragraph of…
Arkansas Baptists narrowly reject opening on communion, baptism
VAN BUREN, Ark. (ABP) — Arkansas Baptist State Convention leaders narrowly rejected an attempt Nov. 7 to remove a peculiar constitutional provision on communion and baptism that historians say is rooted in a 19th-century Baptist controversy. Messengers to the body's…
Out Loud
“The KKK is our own terrorist organization. They have murdered, lynched and terrorized thousands of people in this country, or inspired the same. It is disingenuous of us to say that someone in Saudi Arabia ought to do something about…
BJC announces 3rd annual essay contest for students
To engage high school students in church-state issues and to generate interest from a wide range of Baptists, the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty has launched the 2008 Religious Liberty Essay Contest. Open to all Baptist high school students…
Memphis church gives new meaning to ‘I Surrender All’
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (RNS) — Nineteen-year-old Edacious recently came to New Salem Missionary Baptist Church, to surrender — and not just to Jesus. There was a warrant for her arrest on marijuana charges, and she had come to church to turn…
Missouri convention overwhelmingly rejects Moran-allied candidates
OSAGE BEACH, Mo. (ABP) — For the first time in eight years, messengers to the Missouri Baptist Convention annual meeting have rejected a slate of officer candidates allied with an organized fundamentalist faction. Meeting Oct. 29-31 at a resort on…
FAITHSHAPERS: Positive behaviors
Last month we discussed ways to extinct undesirable behaviors. Now we will turn our attention to the other side of the coin. Reducing our reinforcement of negative behaviors is a great start, but we also have to be purposeful about…