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…
Supreme Court tackles ‘partial-birth’ abortion again — with 2 new justices
WASHINGTON (ABP) — The man who may cast the deciding vote in the Supreme Court's first major abortion cases in six years tipped his hand little during oral arguments Nov. 8. Justice Anthony Kennedy asked a cascade of highly technical…
New Mexicans see record number
Perhaps more people attended the annual meeting of the Baptist Convention of New Mexico this year than any year since it was founded 94 years ago. The 2006 convention was the first since New Mexico Baptists elected Joseph Bunce as…
Miss. approves record budget
Messengers from the Mississippi Baptist Convention's 2,114 churches approved without opposition a record Cooperative Program budget of more than $33 million during their annual meeting Oct. 31-Nov. 1. The $33,188,934 budget for 2007 represents an almost 6 percent increase over…
South Dakota voters overturn nation’s strictest abortion ban
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (ABP) — Voters in South Dakota overturned the nation's most stringent abortion ban Nov. 7 — 55 percent to 45 percent. Supporters of the ban had hoped to use it to challenge the 33-year-old Roe v. Wade…
By slim margin, Missourians approve stem-cell research within the state
ST. LOUIS, Mo. (ABP) — Voters in Missouri Nov. 7 narrowly approved a constitutional amendment protecting stem-cell research in the state, causing opponents to cite deception and propaganda as the reason for their loss. Preliminary results show the amendment passed…
Arizona voters nation’s first to reject amendment banning gay marriage
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Gay-rights supporters and opponents both claimed victory after the Nov. 7 midterm elections, with voters in seven states approving gay-marriage bans and Arizona becoming the first state in the country to reject such an amendment. Although 27…
Democrats retake House, probably Senate thanks to moderate candidates, disaffection
Haraz N. Ghanbari/AP Senate candidate Jim Webb, D-Va., addresses his supporters after watching election day results in Vienna, Va., Wednesday, Nov. 8, 2006. WASHINGTON (ABP) — President Bush extended Democrats a rhetorical olive branch Nov. 8, just hours after the…
Opinion: You are what you eat
If you've never been to a “McDonald's Night,” consider yourself lucky. Now in theory, this is a “win-win” proposition: a fundraiser for my children's school and a night out of the kitchen. It has never been truer, alas, that the…