CHICAGO (ABP) — Most churches feel a duty to serve and minister to anyone in need. But if that includes undocumented immigrants, legal and ethical issues emerge that many congregations don't know how to address. And it's no longer just…
Gruesome murders, Islamist candidate worry Turkish Christians, secularists
ISTANBUL (ABP) — As Turkish Christians reel from the recent brutal murders of three of their own — allegedly by radical Islamists — many Turks worry the possible election of Turkey's first devoutly Muslim president could mean more trouble. As…
Texas Baptists minister to tornado victims in Texas and Mexico
PIEDRAS NEGRAS, Mexico (ABP) — Juan Molina doesn't remember the last tornado that hit Eagle Pass, Texas, or Piedras Negras, Mexico. And he doesn't know anyone else who recalls the last one either. So when it started to rain earlier…
ABP board honors three, moves ahead with partnership with Standard, others
DALLAS (ABP) — The board of the nation's only independent news service for Baptists honored two leaders of Baptist communications and a Dallas congregation for their contributions to the cause of Christian journalism April 27. Meeting in Dallas, directors of…
Pfeiffer VP becomes Bluefield’s ninth president in 85 Years
BLUEFIELD, Va. (ABP) — David Olive will be the next president of Bluefield College, the Virginia Baptist school announced April 21. Olive, who currently is executive vice president and chief operating officer at Pfeiffer University in Charlotte, N.C., will be…
Veterans Affairs agrees to allow Wiccan symbols as grave markers
WASHINGTON (ABP) — After a 10-year struggle, the federal Department of Veterans Affairs has approved placing a symbol of the Wicca faith on the grave markers of Wiccan soldiers buried in government cemeteries. The decision is the result of a…
In first fallout from abortion ruling, Supreme court returns state cases
WASHINGTON (ABP) — In the first fallout from a controversial recent ruling on abortion rights, the Supreme Court on April 23 returned two cases — dealing with Virginia and Missouri state laws on so-called “partial-birth” abortions — to lower federal…
Palestinian Bible Society building bombed in latest Gaza incident
GAZA CITY, Palestine (ABP) — In the latest violence among warring Palestinian factions, a bomb severely damaged the Palestinian Bible Society building April 15 in Gaza City. The building, located in the city center, housed the Teacher's Bookshop, Gaza's only…
Baptist colleges prepare strategies for dealing with campus incidents
BELTON, Texas (ABP) — Police cars and fire engines lined the streets on the north side of the University of Mary-Hardin Baylor campus April 18. Paramedics carried students on stretchers and loaded them into ambulances. This time, it was just…
Refugees from Myanmar find New York, Baptist connections
BUFFALO, N.Y. (ABP) — Two Baptist missionaries, after serving 15 years in Thailand, have been reassigned to work with thousands of Karen refugees in the United States and Thailand. The move is noteworthy because the United States recently changed a…
Wife of slain pastor convicted of voluntary manslaughter
SELMER, Tenn. (ABP) — Mary Winkler, the wife of a slain Church of Christ pastor in Tennessee, was convicted April 19 of voluntary manslaughter, a lesser charge than the prosecution wanted. Winkler, 33, was charged in the 2006 slaying of…
Va. Tech: Some Christian leaders offer solace; others blame ‘godlessness’
BLACKSBURG, Va. (ABP) — Christian leaders have begun to respond to the April 16 tragedy at Virginia Tech with words of solace — while a few blame the tragedy on America's 'godlessness.' Most haven't attempted to explain the massacre, saying…