A star evangelical pastor and a star Democratic senator have fired back at anti-abortion leaders who criticized an AIDS conference designed to rally Christians to fight the global pandemic. Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church in Orange County, Calif.; and…
Opinion: Waiting with a purpose
When I was giving birth to our first child, one of the nurses asked my husband how he was doing, since he was just standing there, having nothing to do but watch me struggle through labor. My husband, who would…
Rick who?
If Britney Spears, Denzel Washington and James Dobson were in a lineup, most Americans would know the first two but draw a blank on the evangelical leader. A new study by the Barna Group found that a majority of Americans,…
Correction
In the Dec. 6 ABP article “Leaders at Texas conference join McKissic's call for more freedom,” the following quote in the 18th paragraph should be attributed to Benjamin Cole, not Wade Burleson: “It's not about the public use of speaking…
Baptist’s anti-Muslim remarks appear on Arab news network
Anti-Muslim remarks by a Missouri Baptist executive have made their way onto Al-Jazeerah, the pre-eminent news network in the Arab world. In an Oct. 30 speech to the Missouri Baptist Convention, Executive Director David Clippard said: “Today, Islam has a…
Seasonal meals for homeless bring lovebirds together
DALLAS (ABP) — Two formerly homeless Dallasites found food and shelter through a Baptist church — and much more. They found each other, found a new life together in Christ, and now have found a way to bless others less…
ABC Board confirms decisions to sell building, elect leader
Leaders of the American Baptist Churches USA have approved selling the “Holy Doughnut”—the organization's Pennsylvania headquarters building—and confirmed the appointment of a new head for the denomination's international missions organization. The ABC's General Board voted nearly unanimously Nov. 14 to…
Are Baptist leaders doing enough about clergy sex-abuse revelations?
DALLAS (ABP) — Recent sex scandals among Catholic and evangelical leaders are prompting renewed calls for action against clergy sexual abuse. But with research indicating such abuse is more prevalent among clergy — including Baptists — than other counseling professionals,…
Uzbek court fines Baptists preachers
Following a raid on a Baptist church in the southern Uzbek town of Karshi, two visiting Baptists were, on October 25, given massive fines of over 45 times the country's minimum monthly salary each for participating in unregistered religious worship….
Conference, report highlight ongoing legal wrangling over faith programs
WASHINGTON (ABP) — In a year when President Bush's “faith-based initiative” faced considerable public-relations challenges, it also continued to raise challenging legal and institutional questions, according to a new report from an independent group. In the past year, the White…
Kazakh Baptists fined heavily
Two Baptists in Zyryanovsk in the eastern Kazakhstan, who were given large fines on June 27 for religious activity without registration, have failed in their appeals to have the fines overturned. Pastor Yegor Prokopenko was given the massive fine of…
Gay marriage now legal in South Africa
South Africa became the fifth country to legalize gay marriage Nov. 30 when Acting President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka signed a landmark bill into law. South Africa is the first African country to take such a step. Canada, Spain, Belgium and the…