ATLANTA (ABP) — A judicial panel of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has stripped an Atlanta pastor of the denomination's official ministerial credentials because he is gay. But Bradley Schmeling of St. John's Lutheran Church has vowed to remain…
BWA leaders, in Ghana, call for repentance, forgiveness for slavery
ACCRA, Ghana (ABP) — Gathered in the courtyard of Ghana's Cape Coast Slave Castle, members of Baptist World Alliance held a somber service of memory and reconciliation July 5. The slave castle, perched on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean,…
The Great Commission: What is the future of missions?
DALLAS (ABP) — As churches and individual Christians demand more hands-on, practical connection to missions, some Baptists are questioning whether a missions-by-proxy approach — churches supporting professional career missionaries sent by large denominational agencies — has a future. Count Ken…
The Great Commission: Churches increasingly become mission-senders
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) — While Baptist missiologists are declaring church-based missions the future of global outreach, some pastors are saying it is already here. Although evidence is largely anecdotal, many Baptists believe church work overseas without the help of mission…
The Great Commission: Back to basics as missionaries raise own support
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (ABP) — Career missionaries have started to cut out the middleman when it comes to generating money, they say. And while denominational agencies and mission partners will not be left completely out of the picture, their roles…
BWA celebrates freedom, promotes reconciliation
ACCRA, Ghana (ABP) — The twin themes of freedom in Christ and reconciliation that leads to unity echoed throughout the July 2-7 annual gathering of the Baptist World Alliance. With more than 110 million members, the Alliance is the world's…
Minorities flock to multiethnic campus groups for Christian fellowship
DALLAS (ABP) — Caucasian students continue to primarily populate college evangelical organizations, but ethnic minority students have started to join them in increasing numbers. Two of the nation's largest parachurch campus evangelical organizations, Campus Crusade for Christ and InterVarsity Christian…
Baptist alliance, in Ghana July 4, celebrates global freedom
ACCRA, Ghana (ABP) — Representatives attending the Baptist World Alliance Annual Gathering in Accra, Ghana, celebrated freedom during a plenary session July 4. BWA President David Coffey, of England, noted the near-concurrence of America's Independence Day, Ghana's Republic Day (July…
Jamaican pastor elected BWA general secretary in historic vote
ACCRA, Ghana (ABP) — Neville Callam, a Jamaican pastor, theologian and author, was unanimously elected July 6 as the first non-white general secretary of the Baptist World Alliance. He is also the 102-year-old alliance's first leader not from the United…
Accrediting association reprimands Criswell College due to finances
DALLAS (ABP) — A Bible college with close ties to the Southern Baptist conservative movement is in danger of losing its accreditation due to financial problems. The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools announced June 28 on its website that…
The great commission: Technology affects missionaries in different ways, they say
NEW YORK (ABP) — Most leaders in Baptist missions agree that technology has changed the face of world evangelization. What they don't agree on is what it has changed the most. Some point to centralized integration of information, saying it…
Correction
In two recent stories, Associated Baptist Press repeatedly misspelled thelast name of prominent American evangelical historian Randall Balmer as “Ballmer.” The correct spelling of Balmer's last name is the one with a single “l.” Please change all references to the…