GREENSBORO, N.C. (ABP) — Baptist churches in North Carolina will have to deny membership to gays or face expulsion from the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina. Messengers to the convention's annual meeting voted Nov. 14 to add language to…
‘Inflated’ reports of new churches also mar Arango’s work in Mexico
DALLAS (ABP) — Otto Arango exported to Latin America the church-planting strategies he developed in South Texas. But some observers familiar with his work in Mexico say Arango — the central figure in an investigation that revealed misuse and mismanagement…
Piper Institute to discuss role of founder in Valley scandal
DALLAS (ABP) — A called meeting of the board of the Piper Institute for Church Planting was scheduled for Nov. 14 in Dallas to consider allegations of misuse and mismanagement of church-starting funds by the institute's founder, Otto Arango, and…
Almost Baptist!
Growing up in Georgia, I devoured collards, cornbread and the columns by Louie D. Newton in the weekly issues of The Christian Index, the Georgia Baptist newspaper. Newton was a well-known pastor, former editor of the Index, and a denominational…
News about Virginia Baptists and their ministries for November 9, 2006
STAFF CHANGES Ben Munford, to Oak Hall Church, Sandston, as pastor. Kirby Smith, to Oak Forest Church, Chesterfield, as pastor. Jim Graham, to Wallers Church, Partlow, as pastor. Russell H. Dilday, to First Church, Richmond, as interim pastor, effective Jan….
Africa comes to Richmond
Calvin Birch looked from the muzzle of the rifle to the face of the angry man who pointed it at him. He stammered, “I can't just leave her here!” The dead woman in his arms had been hit by a…
Arkansans approve bingo for religious, charitable causes
LITTLE ROCK, Ark., (ABP) — An Arkansas constitutional amendment legalizing charitable bingo and raffles passed Nov. 7, despite the efforts of Baptists to defeat it. Amendment 1, which passed with 69 percent of the vote, will allow non-profit organizations to…
Women at ‘Get Away’ urged to ‘live beyond words’
Over 1,000 women made their annual pilgrimage to Eagle Eyrie Baptist Conference Center for the Women's Get-Away and Rally/Woman's Missionary Union of Virginia annual meeting. There they encountered a movement of the spirit second to none as they focused on…
Dallas church provides teaching ground for young ministers learning the ropes
DALLAS (ABP) — Lying in a hospital bed, Wilshire Baptist Church's pastor emeritus Bruce McIver told a close friend something he'd thought about for a long time. “Two months before he died, we talked about his desire to see more…
Ala. church ejected from association for hiring female associate pastor
An Alabama Baptist church has been ejected from its local association for hiring a female associate pastor—which may be a first of sorts. The Mobile Baptist Association voted Oct. 19 to withdraw fellowship from Hillcrest Baptist Church in Mobile. Associational…
CBF names first coordinator for U.S. disaster response
ATLANTA (ABP) — Charles Ray, a long-time Little Rock, Ark., resident, has been named the first coordinator for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship's U.S.-based disaster response team. He'll begin his new position Jan. 1, 2007. The two-year position was created through…
Arkansans pass task force report
Messengers to the 153rd annual meeting of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention approved a ministry task force report that includes recommendations to regionalize executive board ministries, increase the percentage of Cooperative Program funds forwarded to Southern Baptist Convention causes, and…