STAFF CHANGES Mark Hackler, to Sharon Church, Danville, as pastor. Danny Lester, to Thornburg Church, Thornburg, as pastor. Rodger Hogan, to Midland Church, Vinton, as pastor. Jerry Parker, resigning as pastor of Immanuel Church, Colonial Heights, to return to the…
Former BGAV president elected to lead BTSR
Florida pastor Ronald W. Crawford, a former Virginia pastor who was president of the Baptist General Association of Virginia, was named president-elect of Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond by the school's board of trustees March 19. Crawford currently serves as…
Torture declaration irrational, says professor
An anti-torture statement endorsed by the National Association of Evangelicals “is a moral travesty managing not only to confuse but to harm genuine evangelical witness in the culture,” a Southern Baptist ethics professor said March 15. “The main problem I…
Hammond elected as NAMB president, plans closer relationship with IMB
ALPHARETTA, Ga. (ABP) — In a unanimous vote March 21, trustees of the North American Mission Board elected Geoff Hammond as president of the Southern Baptist Convention's stateside mission body. Hammond, 49, will start full-time work for the entity May…
CBFV adopts Millennium Development Goals
The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Virginia adopted the United Nations Millennium Development Goals during its annual general assembly, March 9-10 in Richmond. The vote came at the urging of Colleen Burroughs, co-founder and executive vice president of Passport Inc., a…
NAE board declines to repriment Cizik for global warming campaign
Board members of the National Association of Evangelicals declined March 9 to chasten the group's public-policy officer for his public statements on global warming—but an intramural fight among evangelical elites on the issue may just be starting. NAE directors, meeting…
Pastor gets 10 years of probation for sexual molestation of teenage boy
An Amherst pastor convicted of molesting a teenage boy he once tutored was sentenced to 10 years probation on March 14. Kenneth Larry Payne, 70, was arrested in May 2006 after a 17-year-old reported Payne's actions to authorities. Payne was…
May 21 is entry deadline for BJC’s religious liberty essay contest
To engage high school students in church-state issues and to generate interest from a wide range of Baptists, the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty in Washington has launched its second annual religious liberty essay contest. Open to all Baptist…
Correction
There was an error in the fifth paragraph of the March 19 ABP story, “Paul Powell retires as Truett Seminary Dean; David Garland to replace him.” Please change the final sentence of that paragraph to read: “Diana Garland took over…
Ron Crawford approved as president of Baptist Seminary at Richmond
RICHMOND, Va. (ABP) — Trustees at the Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond announced March 20 their election of Ron Crawford as president of the 18-year-old seminary. Crawford, 55, was approved unanimously by trustees and will take the position July 1….
Disbanding church sells property, endows CBF of Florida with gift
LAKELAND, Fla. (ABP) — Despite years of dwindling membership and subsequent closure, Indigo Community Church is going out in style — to the tune of almost half a million dollars. On March 11, the Daytona Beach, Fla., congregation's remaining members…
Episcopal bishops reject Anglicans’ ultimatum; total split over gays looms
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…