NAVASOTA, Texas (ABP) — With a March 20 resolution, bishops of the Episcopal Church in the United States rejected calls from their global counterparts to backtrack on gay rights — and the rebuff may endanger the U.S. church's role in…
Missouri associate Jim Austin tapped for top Baptist spot in South Carolina
COLUMBIA, S. C. (ABP) – After spending less than two years as associate executive director of the Missouri Baptist Convention, Jim Austin is expected to become new executive director-treasurer of the South Carolina Baptist Convention. A South Carolina search committee…
Christians, ACLU join forces in favor of ‘Bong Hits 4 Jesus’
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Few events in American society could bring together the American Civil Liberties Union and Pat Robertson's American Center for Law and Justice, especially to defend a banner mentioning drug use. But a case argued before the Supreme…
Taming that teen spirit: Teens watch parents, clergy for guidance on sex
WASHINGTON, D.C. (ABP) — More than three quarters of teens think religious leaders should do more to help prevent teen pregnancy — that's even more than the 64 percent of adults who think the same. But while 76 percent of…
Despite icy weather, 3,000 Christians gather in Washington to protest war
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Thousands of Christians braved frigid temperatures, icy conditions and even arrest March 16 in Washington to protest the Iraq war. The “Christian Peace Witness for Iraq” began with a service at Washington National Cathedral and ended with…
Paul Powell retires as Truett Seminary dean; David Garland to replace him
WACO, Texas (ABP) — Paul Powell, who built up Baylor University's George W. Truett Theological Seminary in his six years as its dean, will retire in May and be succeeded by a veteran Baptist educator. David Garland, the school's associate…
Citing health reasons, author Lucado steps down from San Antonio pulpit
SAN ANTONIO, Texas (ABP) — Prolific Christian author Max Lucado has announced plans to step down as senior pastor of his San Antonio megachurch due to a heart ailment. In a March 5 letter addressed to members of Oak Hills…
Pistol-wielding robber interrupts Tennessee deacons’ meeting
ATHENS, Tenn. (ABP) — Any Baptist pastor will tell you that deacons' meetings can sometimes get hairy, but this one has to take the cake. A man who robbed deacons at a small-town Tennessee March 12 is in custody now…
Generous Arkansas family receives generosity from TV ‘makeover’
MURFREESBORO, Ark. (ABP) — Thanks to a popular network television show and an eclectic array of others, one Arkansas Baptist family now has a lot more room to breathe. Dennis and Kim Collins, their son, Mitchell, and the five young…
House panel rejects attempt to add faith-based hiring to Head Start
WASHINGTON (ABP) — For the first time under Democrats' new majority in Congress, a House panel refused March 14 to add language to a bill that would have allowed religious organizations receiving federal funds to discriminate in hiring on the…
New Ohio governor proposes cutbacks in state’s landmark voucher program
COLUMBUS, Ohio (ABP) — Ohio's new Democratic governor is proposing significant cutbacks in the state's groundbreaking school-voucher program. In his first “State of the State” speech March 14, Gov. Ted Strickland proposed that the voucher program be eliminated — except…
Opinion: Good manners and speaking the truth
The early onset of the presidential campaign has brought with it a renewed call for a “return to civility.” There seems, however, little prospect for any immediate restoration of such civility, assuming that it ever existed. I think there are…