On Oct. 1, Loudoun Bible Church opened with a bang in Ashburn. The opening service consisted of a heart-warming commissioning ceremony, soul-stirring gospel music, a celebratory reception featuring noted jazz artists, AJQ Jazz, and an inaugural sermon by pastor Wayne…
Summit calls global church to focus to AIDS crisis
When 5,500 people die of AIDS every day, the need is not for charity but for justice, says Bono, and the church must do something about it. “That's a lot of our brothers and sisters to be losing for no…
Leaders at Texas conference join McKissic’s call for more freedom
Pastors and other Baptist leaders at a Dec. 5 roundtable discussion voted unanimously to request Southern Baptist Convention officials to reconsider restrictive policies regarding speaking in tongues. The 100-plus pastors and laypeople who attended the half-day event at Dwight McKissic's…
New set of Baptist-Catholic talks to be held this month in Alabama
The first in a new series of Baptist-Catholic theological conversations was to be held at Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham, Ala., Dec. 10-12. The Baptist team is being led by Baptist World Alliance General Secretary Denton Lotz and Paul Fiddes,…
Ellison won’t be first politician to forgo Bible in taking oath of office
When Keith Ellison, the Minnesota Democrat who last month was elected the first Muslim in Congress, announced he would take his oath of office on Islam's holy book, the Quran, he provoked sharp criticism. The ensuing discussion has revived the…
No ‘Hog’ hereafter: Ga. church votes to purge piggy name
LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. (ABP) — A Baptist church in a rapidly growing part of Georgia is no longer sitting high on the hog, thanks to a recent name-changing vote. And some longtime members of the 152-year-old congregation as well as those…
Japanese university names former Southern Baptist missionary as president
FUKUOKA, Japan (ABP) — A Japanese university founded by Southern Baptist missionaries has named one as its new president. Trustees of Seinan Gakuin University in Fukuoka, Japan, have elected Gary Barkley as the school's ninth president. Barkley will be the…
BGCT gives authorities information about alleged misuse of funds
DALLAS (ABP) — The Baptist General Convention of Texas has given authorities information about the alleged misuse of the convention's church-starting funds between 1999 and 2005. A convention representative gave officials at the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Southern District…
Watchdog group wants Pentagon inquiry in evangelical group’s video promo
ARLINGTON, Va. (ABP) — The influence of evangelical Christians in the military's highest ranks is again under question, after complaints about an evangelical group's promotional video that features several top-ranking Pentagon officers, some in uniform. The Pentagon inspector general's office…
Opinion: A glimmer of hope for Iraq
This recent report of the Iraq Study Group offers a welcome infusion of wisdom and bipartisanship in the tortured struggle over what to do about Iraq. The carefully written report offers the only glimmer of hope recently seen in this…
For Christians, ‘Nativity’ overcomes mixed reviews, potential scandal
LOS ANGELES (ABP) — One week after its debut, a movie based on the Gospels' simple Nativity narrative is spurring optimism among Christian film fans, who seem willing to overlook potentially scandalous news about one of the movie's stars. “The…
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…