LOUISVILLE, Ky. (ABP) — Drew Nichter has been named news director of the Western Recorder, a Baptist newspaper in Louisville, Ky. He started in his new role May 16. Nichter, 30, succeeds David Winfrey, who resigned after 10 years to…
Study suggests Muslims in America more mainstream than in Europe
WASHINGTON (ABP) — One of the most comprehensive studies of its kind suggests that Muslims in the United States are far better assimilated into the nation's culture — and far less likely to espouse extremist beliefs — than their counterparts…
Plan allows N.C. colleges to elect trustees but give up funding
ASHEBORO, N.C. (ABP) — The five colleges affiliated with the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina would be able to elect their own trustees under a plan adopted by the convention's board of directors, but the schools will lose the…
Latest Senate immigration proposal long shot but needed, ethicist says
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Although it may face an uphill battle in Congress, some Christian leaders are saying the Senate's latest immigration-reform proposal is better than nothing. The legislation passed an initial test May 21 when the Senate voted to consider…
Vietnam vets organizing reunion of former Saigon Baptist church
HIDEAWAY, Texas (ABP) — Baptist churches, sometimes known for holding endless committee meetings and forming factions pitted against each other for slight offences, could learn a thing or two from Trinity Baptist Church of the former Saigon, Vietnam. According to…
Drake won’t repeat as SBC 2nd VP but won’t rule out higher office
BUENA PARK, Calif. (ABP) — Wiley Drake, the Los Angeles-area pastor, radio crusader and Southern Baptist Convention gadfly, has announced he will not allow himself to be nominated for a second term as second vice president of the convention. The…
Missouri pastor named director of ministerial excellence at CBF
ATLANTA — Steve Graham, pastor of Second Baptist Church in Liberty, Mo., has been named director of ministerial excellence for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. He will assume the new role in June. The initiative for ministerial excellence is funded by…
Missouri conservatives organize against their former movement
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (ABP) — Eleven ministers who supported conservatives' efforts to take control of the Missouri Baptist Convention now say that the people they put in power have taken conservatism too far. The group voiced its concerns publicly in…
Huckabee cancels Covenant speech over Jimmy Carter’s criticism of Bush
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (ABP) — Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee has cancelled plans to speak at the New Baptist Covenant Celebration next January because of organizer Jimmy Carter's recent criticism of President Bush. Carter criticized Bush's foreign policy in a…
Updated: Carter meets with SBC bloggers, who welcome gesture
ATLANTA (ABP) — Some of the Southern Baptist Convention's most prominent bloggers reacted positively to a summit they held with former President Jimmy Carter May 17 in Atlanta. Carter and the leaders discussed building a broad range of Baptist support…
FAITH DIGEST
CHRISTIAN WORSHIP EXPERT WEBBER DIES. Robert Webber, an influential expert on Christian worship, died April 27 in Sawyer, Mich., after suffering from pancreatic cancer. He was 73. Webber, a professor of ministry at Northern Seminary in Lombard, Ill., the last…
Woven together
The drive to weave ties among local churches is housed deep in the Baptist DNA, some observers of denominational life say. It's an instinct almost as visceral as another, often competing, Baptist charactertistic — a fierce independence of thought and…