NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) — New Southern Baptist Convention president Frank Page warned his fellow SBC leaders Sept. 18 that the denomination must retain its relevancy in a rapidly changing world. “I thank God that the [SBC's] battle for [biblical] inerrancy…
ABP announces new columns, other features on website
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (ABP) — Associated Baptist Press is publishing a new series of syndicated columns, starting with Baptist ethicists David Gushee and Elizabeth Newman. The new columns are among several changes announced for ABP's website, ABPNews.com, including a daily collection…
McKissic asks SBC to add policy on tongues to statement of faith
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) — A Southern Baptist trustee, whose recent seminary chapel sermon was partially censored over his comments on speaking in tongues, has asked that the denomination address the issue in its official confession of faith. Dwight McKissic, pastor…
Princeton professor says killing disabled newborns is acceptable
“Many people find this shocking, yet they support a woman's right to have an abortion,” Singer, a professor of bioethics, said in a question and answer article in The Independent, a British newspaper. “One point on which I agree with…
News about Virginia Baptists and their ministries for September 14, 2006
STAFF CHANGES Cecil Chambers, to Skipwith Church, Richmond, as pastor. Floyd Harrison, to Story Creek Church, Ferrum, as pastor. Trent Moody, resigning as pastor of First Church, Jonesville. Jim Riddle, to Cambridge Church, Richmond, as interim pastor. William J. “Bill”…
Texas study finds many state schools violating laws on teaching religion
AUSTIN, Texas (ABP) — The vast majority of Texas school districts offering courses on the Bible are doing so in an inadequate and unconstitutional manner, and districts in other states are probably no better, according to a study from a…
Blue Like Jazz mirrors debate about direction of Christianity
DALLAS (ABP) — Reactions among evangelical Christians to Donald Miller's best-selling book Blue Like Jazz are about as diverse as reactions to the idea of postmodern Christianity itself. Although the book debuted three years ago, its steadily growing popularity has…
Navy chaplain fined, reprimanded for disobeying commander’s order
NORFOLK, Va. (ABP) — A Navy chaplain who has accused his superiors of violating his religious freedom has been convicted by a court-martial for appearing in uniform at a rally to protest military policy on chaplains. A military jury in…
Tutu says apartheid, sin shattered when humans gather together
DALLAS (ABP) — The man who helped defeat legal segregation in South Africa said such sin cannot be overcome without the gathering of humans together with each other and God. Speaking to an overflow crowd at a Dallas Episcopal church…
CBF awarded $1.5 million grant to encourage ‘missional churches’
ATLANTA (ABP) — The foundation Christ Is Our Salvation has given the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship a $1.5 million grant to transform CBF churches into “missional” congregations. To be a missional church, according to advocates, means to orient a congregation's entire…
No post-Sept. 11 revival, but attacks changed churches, some say
DALLAS (ABP) — The Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States didn't produce the widespread revival some Christian leaders had predicted, but commentators believe the events of that day continue to affect church ministry. Five years after the…
Religious affiliations just aren’t what they used to be, report finds
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Americans may not be losing their religion after all, according to a massive new Baylor University study on faith in the United States. The results of the study by the Texas Baptist school's sociology department and Institute…