A new Baptist hymnal being developed by Mercer University will make a lasting contribution to worship among Baptists in North America, say three Virginia Baptist who are involved in the project. More than 50 Baptist pastors, church musicians, composers, scholars…
Baptist history conference makes its own history
The “mother church” of Southern Baptists—from whose pulpit legendary pastor Richard Furman once defended the institution of slavery—will host Baptists of multiple races, denominations and regional identities for a historic conference in August. The First Baptist Church of Charleston, S.C.,…
Gonzales touts religious-freedom plan to SBC; others question Bush record
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) — Attorney General Alberto Gonzales chose the Feb. 20 Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee meeting to announce a new Justice Department focus on religious freedom. But some Christian leaders questioned the move, as well as the Bush…
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…
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…
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…
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…