CONOVER, N.C. (ABP) — Despite decades of tweaking evangelistic methods, there is little evidence that many Christians are experiencing true life change, Ron Martoia told church leaders Jan. 29. Perhaps, the church consultant said, that failure is because Christians in…
IMB trustee investigation rejects allegations of board impropriety
The Southern Baptist Convention's International Mission Board, following an internal investigation, has rejected a trustee's accusations of impropriety and unauthorized tightening of doctrinal parameters. The board reportedly approved a report, based on its own executive committee's investigations into the charges,…
Study says teen faith shaped more by hands-on ministry than worship
WACO, Texas (ABP) — Serving meals to homeless people at a church-sponsored shelter can have a greater impact than sitting in a pew every Sunday morning on how a teenager's faith develops, a new study has concluded. “Involvement in community…
National WMU to suffer from more funding cuts
The Woman's Missionary Union of the Southern Baptist Convention, which has seen its annual revenues drop precipitously in the last eight years, now stands to lose hundreds of thousands of dollars more from one of the two mission boards it…
Experts on both sides of ‘ex-gay’ debate skeptical about Haggard cure claim
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Claims by one of Ted Haggard's spiritual overseers that he is now “100 percent heterosexual” should be taken with a significant grain of salt, according to experts with differing opinions on the value of “ex-gay” or sexual-reorientation…
CBF to hold joint session with ABC during assembly
There will be a historic gathering and celebration of Baptist unity and shared values during this year's Cooperative Baptist Fellowship General Assembly, to be held June 28-29, 2007, in Washington, D.C., when the CBF and the American Baptist Churches, USA,…
Accurate definition of ‘evangelical’ up for debate in theology, politics
DALLAS (ABP) — 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…
Baptist churches more vulnerable to clergy sex abuse, say experts
A recent sex scandal involving two North Texas pastors and the women who accused them of molestation is unusual because the victims—by now beyond the statute of limitations for sex-abuse cases—urged authorities and media to publish their names in conjunction…
Gay-friendly NC church invites investigation; ouster now likely
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (ABP) — A church in Charlotte has turned itself in to the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina, admitting it is in violation of the convention's stance against homosexuality. The deacons at Myers Park Baptist Church sent an…
Baptist mission workers killed in bus crash in Honduras
TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (ABP) — Three Americans on a mission trip in Honduras were killed in a truck crash Feb. 6. Ten other people were injured when the truck flipped on a remote mountain road, authorities said. Two of the deceased…
Pain of Florida tornado intense for rural Florida church, 2 families
PAISLEY, Fla. (ABP) — Like a lot of close-knit churches in rural Florida, the 100-member First Baptist Church of Paisley is small enough that regular attenders are missed when they don't show up on Sunday. But the absence of the…
Last of Arizona Baptist fraud convicts sentenced to prison
PHOENIX (ABP) — One of the most egregious cases of fraud in non-profit history came to a close Feb. 2, when the former treasurer of the Baptist Foundation of Arizona was sentenced. Donald Deardoff, 49, was ordered to serve four…