Jim Henry, former pastor of First Baptist in Orlando, Fla., and former president of the Southern Baptist Convention, will be the keynote speaker at the Southwest Evangelism Conference on Feb. 19 at First Baptist Church in Galax. The conference will…
ANOTHER VIEW: A year of challenges
Christmas vacation is always a time for me to read, meditate and review the past year. I send these seven challenges for 2007, not because I have the answers, but because I feel they are critical issues confronting the church….
FIRST HAND: What is the future of liturgical worship?
In a recent academic publication by InterVarsity Press, Liturgical Theology, Simon Chan presents an intriguing case for the use of liturgy. With the center of the church shifting from Western Europe and North America to the southern hemisphere, perhaps it…
South African pastor killed by gunman during Bible study
FISH HOEK, South Africa (ABP) — Phillip Mokson, founding pastor of Masiphumelele Baptist Church near here, was shot and killed Jan. 22 as he taught a Bible study inside the church building. Family members including his wife, children and grandchildren…
Episcopal Church left historic Christianity, conservatives say
Two leaders of The Falls Church, one of the largest Episcopal parishes in Virginia that voted to sever ties with the Episcopal Church, said they left the denomination because the American Episcopal Church “no longer believes in the historic, orthodox…
Accrediting agencies asked to probe seminary’s dismissal of female prof
FORT WORTH, Texas (ABP) — A supporter of a professor who lost her job at a Southern Baptist seminary — allegedly due to gender discrimination — has filed complaints with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and Association of…
Chaplain: Grounds for his ouster were overturned by Congress
While the U.S. Navy has rescinded a regulation that restricted chaplains from conducting public worship outside of Sunday chapels, an evangelical claims the military branch is firing him for violating that guideline. A chaplain at the Naval Air Station in…
Appeals court upholds ruling against faith-based group
CINCINNATI (ABP) — A federal appeals court said Jan. 17 that the Michigan government was right to discontinue funding a Christian ministry for abused, neglected and delinquent children. A three-judge panel of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously…
Carter, Clinton hope compassion agenda will unite Baptists across North America
Baptists from across North America will convene in Atlanta early next year to emphasize their compassion rather than the racial, theological and social conflict that has divided them for decades. Former presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton—two of the world's…
Sheri Klouda surprised at fallout from her ‘removal’ at Southwestern
FORT WORTH, Texas (ABP) — Sheri Klouda, a former professor at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, said she lost her job teaching Hebrew in the seminary's school of theology because she is a woman. But she wasn't prepared for the fallout…
Bush’s next-to-last State of the Union leaves liberals, conservatives cold
WASHINGTON (ABP) — President Bush's next-to-last State of the Union address provided little to cheer conservatives or liberals, highlighting the difficult position he is in as his presidency begins to approach its end. While speaking to both chambers of Congress…
Bloggers decry Southwestern’s dismissal of female professor for teaching men
FORT WORTH, Texas (ABP) — The dismissal of a female Hebrew professor by Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary has triggered accusations of gender discrimination and a suffocating interpretation of Scripture. The outcry involves Sheri Klouda, who taught Hebrew in the seminary's…