Passion 07 ended Jan. 4 with the announcement that there will be no Passion 08, but rather many smaller events will be held in the United States and in various parts of the world. Passion founder Louie Giglio said the…
Baptist men’s group to climb Africa’s highest peak for charity
NEWNAN, Ga. (ABP) — Daniel Nance knows what altitude sickness feels like. In 2005, while climbing Africa's Mt. Kilimanjaro, he succumbed to the condition caused by exposure to high altitudes, experiencing the headache and fatigue commonly associated with the sickness….
Massachusetts legislators vote to send marriage ban to voters
A week after the state's highest court chided them for not acting sooner, Massachusetts legislators relented Jan. 2 and OK'd a proposed state constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage in the only state that currently allows it. On the…
Warrens to train church leaders in Virginia Baptist conference
RICHMOND, Va. (ABP) — Rick and Kay Warren, co-founders of one of the Southern Baptist Convention's largest and most prominent churches, will be featured at a Baptist General Association of Virginia conference in February. The Warrens, of Saddleback Church in…
Muslim congressman uses Jefferson’s Quran to take oath of office
When incoming lawmaker Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress, took the oath of office Jan. 4, he placed his hand on a Quran once owned by Thomas Jefferson. The Minnesota Democrat has drawn fire from conservatives, including a…
Prominent Missouri church reaches settlement in sexual assault suit
INDEPENDENCE, Mo. (ABP) — A prominent Missouri Baptist church has settled a sexual assault lawsuit that a former intern filed against the pastor's son, who was a staff member at the time of the assault. The Missouri 16th Judicial Circuit…
Bushes, Clintons, Obama, Graham among year’s most-admired
Americans must have politics on their minds. According to a recent Gallup poll, George W. Bush is the most admired man in the world. Sen. Hilary Clinton (D-NY) is the most admired woman. And Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), an early…
Japanese Baptist pastor headed to Vancouver to start churches
DALLAS (ABP) — When Yutaka Takarada flew to Vancouver, British Columbia, last year, he found ample salmon, Japanese restaurants and views of the harbor. But what he didn't see worried him. Even though Vancouver has a sizeable Japanese population, the…
Tsunami effects still felt in India
Two years after a powerful tsunami devastated a dozen countries in south Asia, Virginia Baptists continue to minister to its victims in India. On Dec. 26, 2004, a massive earthquake beneath the seafloor off the west coast of the Indonesian…
Belmont names non-Baptists as controversy continues
Belmont University, embroiled in a lawsuit with the Tennessee Baptist Convention, has further angered some convention leaders by appointing non-Baptists to its board of trustees. The Nashville school announced, via a Dec. 21 press release, that eight new trustees had…
Women’s Missionary Union of Texas names Pinkston interim director
DALLAS (ABP) — Nina Pinkston has been named interim executive director-treasurer of the Woman's Missionary Union of Texas. She replaces Carolyn Porterfield, who resigned last October. Texas WMU president Nelda Taylor said Pinkston was selected because of her strong administrative…
Faith leaders call for Congress to prove faith more than campaign strategy
DALLAS (ABP) — As the first congressional workweek begins, faith leaders are calling for members of Congress to deliver on promises made to values voters during the 2006 midterm elections. In a Jan. 9 panel discussion, representatives from Sojourners/Call to…