One out of every four adults who call themselves “evangelical” is not a “born-again” Christian, according to a recent report from the Barna Group. And that's just the beginning of the confusion surrounding the term “evangelical.” For instance, some political…
Touring children’s choir gives hope for Africa’s impoverished children
ABILENE, Texas (ABP) — Like most boys his age, 8-year-old David dreams about what he'll be when he grows up. This week, he wants to be an air-traffic controller. A year ago, he probably never dreamed he'd be in the…
Wake Forest to establish joint divinity/counseling degree
UNEDITED NEWS RELEASE — WAKE FOREST, N.C. — To better prepare ministers who are often asked to respond to the mental and emotional as well as spiritual needs of church and community members, Wake Forest University has established a new…
Supreme Court will not review policy banning nativity scenes in NY schools
WASHINGTON (ABP) — A year after a New York City mother's appeal, the Supreme Court declined Feb. 20 to review a policy banning nativity scenes but allowing other holiday-season displays in the nation's largest public school district. The justices declined,…
First New Jersey gay couples enter into civil unions
TRENTON, N.J. (ABP) — The first New Jersey gay couples to enjoy the same rights as married couples had their civil unions recognized by that state Feb. 19. The state's law recognizing the unions, passed Dec. 14, went into effect…
Clarification
In the Feb. 19 ABP story “Tolerance, not uniformity, needed to keep SBC together, leaders told,” please replace the 15th through 19th paragraphs with the following in order to correct a potential misunderstanding of Ed Stetzer's use of the term…
Page cautiously optimistic about SBC, predicts shortage of traditional pastors
PHILADELPHIA – The future is bright for the Southern Baptist Convention if its members have the right mindset, follow the right motives, and adopt the right methodology, SBC president Frank Page told a group of Baptist state newspaper editors Feb….
Attorney General Gonzales announces ‘First Freedoms Project’ to SBC leaders
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) — Alberto Gonzales, attorney general of the United States, announced a “First Freedoms Project” in a speech to the Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention Feb. 20. The new Bush administration emphasis apparently will focus on…
Beneath NBA’s hype, hedonism, players find spiritual substance
LAS VEGAS (ABP) — NBA players are glamorized for hardwood highlights and lifestyles of money, honeys and hip-hop swagger. But on Sunday morning of All-Star weekend in Las Vegas — the NBA's biggest bash in America's premier party city —…
CBF council reports declining revenues, adopts new budget
DECATUR, Ga. (ABP) — Halfway through their fiscal year, leaders of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship were informed of a significant revenue shortfall for the organization during the CBF Coordinating Council meeting Feb. 16 in Decatur, Ga. Undesignated receipts were 13.2…
Covenant most important Baptist event since Civil War, organizer tells CBF
DECATUR, Ga. (ABP) — Next January's “Celebration of a New Baptist Covenant” will be the most important Baptist event since before the Civil War, an emotional Jimmy Allen told Cooperative Baptist Fellowship leaders Feb. 16. Allen, the last moderate to…
California pastor challenges colleagues to move beyond ‘church’ to unbelievers
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (ABP) — Unlike most pastors, Erwin McManus is more comfortable talking to people outside the church than he is to rooms full of Christians — like the ones at the North Carolina Baptist State Convention's evangelism conference Feb….