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…
RIGHT OR WRONG?
I'm worried about my elderly mother driving a car, but I hate to take away her independence by taking away her keys. The Bible says to honor your father and mother, and I don't want her to think I've lost…
Treasury withdraws Cuba fine against Alliance of Baptists
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Treasury Department officials have dropped the threat of a $34,000 fine against the Alliance of Baptists, according to a letter the group's attorney received May 17. The department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC, threatened the…
Churches pressure travel industry on sex trafficking
WASHINGTON (RNS)—Faith groups are using their collective influence and financial wherewithal to press the travel and hospitality industry to take greater steps to protect children from sex trafficking. Increasing numbers of church groups and other religious bodies say it's not…
3 prominent Republicans join Carter, Clinton, Gore on New Covenant roster
ATLANTA (ABP) — Organizers for next January's New Baptist Covenant gathering announced the speakers for the historic three-day meeting — with former President Jimmy Carter making good on a pledge to enlist prominent Republican Baptists to complement the mostly Democratic…
House extends hate crimes law to include violence against homosexuals
WASHINGTON (RNS)—The House of Representatives has voted to extend hate crimes legislation to add protections for homosexuals, bisexuals and people with gender-identity issues in the same way people are protected because of race or creed. Democratic leaders called it a…