UNEDITED NEWS RELEASE — BOILING SPRINGS, NC – “We need to intensify the University's efforts in development and, most important, secure the endowment and significant financial resources necessary to realize our vision of a great future for Gardner-Webb University.” In…
Reaction tempered from theological schools left out of CBF’s top tier of ‘partners’
DALLAS (ABP) – After Cooperative Baptist Fellowship leaders voted Oct. 13 to award “identity partner” status to just four of the nine theological schools that applied for the designation, CBF board members and officials worried about the strained relationships and…
Missouri Baptist committee wants to boot 18 churches with ties to moderates
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (ABP) — If a Missouri Baptist Convention committee has its way, messengers to the convention's annual meeting Oct. 31 will effectively eject 18 congregations — including the very church in which the convention got its start. If…
Reform-minded Wiley Drake won’t accept traditional obscurity of SBC’s 2nd VP
BUENA PARK, Calif. (ABP) — The Southern Baptist Convention expects very little from its vice presidents — nothing, in fact — unless the SBC president becomes incapacitated. Traditionally, those elected each year to the mostly honorary VP positions are seen…
Migrants fuel evangelical growth across Europe
Decked in Sunday finery, the chattering line stretches out the door and up a gritty block of warehouses and homes in this working-class Paris suburb. Inside, the congregation at Impact Christian Center sways and chants to gospel rhythms with an…
Nigerian president challenges African Baptists
“The church is part of the larger society. Its members live in a society that is plagued with all sorts of challenges, contradictions and a penchant for negating all the values in the Holy Bible.” With these words, Olusegun Obasanjo,…
The ideal candidate
I remember, as a child, hearing about the “Yella Dog Democrats” who would vote for a yellow dog as long as it was running as a Democrat. Many of those YDDs were Baptists living in the South. Occasionally, I still…
ANOTHER VIEW: Forgive or die
Few recent tragedies have affected me as deeply as the horrific murders at the Amish schoolhouse in Lancaster County, Pa. It seems that each day brings more mayhem in our blood-soaked country. But this one–this image of 10 little girls…
Cut into the darkness
The sun was setting in the west and the shadows were lengthening when this columnist headed out one Saturday on his way to a Sunday speaking engagement in the country. The destination was Straightstone Baptist Church in the northeast corner…
New Orleans churches stagger back to life
Seventy-five people gathered in bright sunshine on a recent Sunday outside Reaping the Harvest Full Gospel Baptist Church in New Orleans. They applauded as pastor Troy Lawrence, resplendent in a three-piece gray pinstriped suit, cut a red ribbon and, for…
Dress casual
Last year in this space, I offered several good reasons why Virginia Baptists might enjoy attending the annual meeting dressed in casual attire, and it appeared as if many messengers made the transition to casual in Woodbridge last November. May…
Franklin Baptist proves unsinkable
Suffering its second flood in seven years, Franklin Baptist Church was closed for a week as waters from the swollen Blackwater River crept into town. “During the Sunday we were out [of the building] we had a community service,” offered…