WORCESTER, Mass. (ABP) — New scientific research may defuse the culture war over embryonic stem-cell research, but it also may raise new ethical questions. In a study publicized Aug. 23 on the website of the journal Nature, members of a…
Mother of Baptist students fears return to African homeland
PLAINVIEW, Texas (ABP) — Fedha Mohamed Elyas has visited her children in Texas before and returned home to Africa with no problems. But this time, she's afraid to go home. Elyas is a resident of the Comoros Islands, off the…
News about Virginia Baptists and their ministries for August 24, 2006
STAFF CHANGES Jason Booth, to Zoan Church, Fredericksburg, as pastor. Rob Tennant, resigning as pastor of Greenbrier Church, Arlington, to accept the pastorate of HillSong Church, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Ryan Snodgrass, to Spring Hill Church, Ruckersville, as site pastor…
Mission team from Roanoke Valley Association returns to Sioux reservations
A mission team from the Roanoke Valley Baptist Association made a return visit to the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation July 30-August 4. This team of 103 members representing 19 RVBA churches served in the communities of Cannon Ball, Ft. Yates,…
Judge upholds 10 Commandments display at Oklahoma courthouse
MUSKOGEE, Okla. (ABP) — A federal judge in Oklahoma has upheld a Ten Commandments display outside a county courthouse, saying county officials did not advance any religious viewpoint by allowing the monument to be built two years ago. United States…
Church pays staff member to work full time in N.O.
METAIRIE, La. (ABP) — In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, hundreds of churches nationwide sent work groups to the region to help gut houses, build new ones and reach people with the gospel. Most of those workers left after a…
Pastoral perks can be unethical, even illegal, Texas church finds
COLLEYVILLE, Texas (ABP) — Frank Harber, pastor of First Baptist Church of Colleyville, Texas, resigned Aug. 18 amid allegations he benefited from an improper real estate deal. But his is only the latest case illustrating the fine line between ethical…
Relationships key to revitalizing poor, rural Kentucky county
WHITLEY CITY, Ky. (ABP) — Wilma Prater has lived in McCreary County, Ky., for 20 years. She likes the peace and quiet, the mountain scenery she can see from her porch, and the friendliness of her neighbors. She said she…
Pastoral perks can be unethical, even illegal, Texas church finds
Frank Harber, pastor of First Baptist Church of Colleyville, Texas, resigned Aug. 18 amid allegations he benefited from an improper real estate deal. But his is only the latest case illustrating the fine line between ethical and non-ethical benefits that…
Series: Katrina, one year later
Churches transformed by Katrina help rebuild New Orleans — house by house NEW ORLEANS (ABP) — Hurricane Katrina is changing New Orleans’ churches as surely as it changed the face of the flooded city itself — and some…
Texas Christian Life Commission picks Paynter for director post
DALLAS (ABP) — Suzii Paynter has been named director of the Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission — the first woman to hold the influential position. The directorship of the ethics and public-policy organization is historically one of the most high-profile…
New Venturer Program offers mission opportunities
Rachel Brentner, a Lawrenceville, Va., kindergarten teacher, developed a passion for Belize and the people of that Central American nation on two mission trips with the Baptist Student Union at Pennsylvania State University. When she looked for a connecting organization…