WASHINGTON (ABP) — With an emergency order July 3, a justice of the Supreme Court has given temporary new life to a cross at the center of a church-state dispute in San Diego. Justice Anthony Kennedy granted a stay that…
Corrections
Please make the following corrections: In the June 28 ABP story, “Alito tips balance upholding Kansas' death-penalty law,” in the lead paragraph please change Jan. 26 to June 26. In the June 29 story, “Former mission board worker gets anonymous…
Judge says Missouri Baptist agencies did not conspire to break away
JEFFERSON CITY, MO. (ABP) — A Missouri judge dismissed conspiracy charges June 27 filed by the Missouri Baptist Convention against four Baptist entities, but the convention may appeal the ruling. Cole County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Brown dismissed conspiracy counts…
Baptist pastor, author Rick Warren invited to speak in North Korea
LAKE FOREST, Calif. (ABP) — North Korean officials have invited best-selling author and Southern Baptist pastor Rick Warren to preach to at least 15,000 people in the communist country, a spokesperson from Warren's Saddleback Church confirmed July 5. The spokesperson…
Baptist churches unite to rebuild New Orleans congregations
NEW ORLEANS (ABP) — Pastor Lawrence Gaines has spent $35,000 of his personal retirement funds to help restore his church building, which was devastated by Hurricane Katrina. “We've gotten to the point now where we just don't have any other…
American Baptists’ Ottawa University names Fred Snow new president
OTTAWA, Kan. (ABP) — Vermont educator Fred Snow has become the new president of Ottawa University in Kansas, one of the largest schools affiliated with American Baptist Churches USA. Snow, who worked for 10 years as vice president and dean…
What Must Be Said About Iraq
Last week the House voted to affirm the war in Iraq and to reject the establishment of any withdrawal date at this time. This week the Senate continues to debate the issue. In light of these developments, and after finishing…
Methodist numbers drop below 8 million
(RNS) — A United Methodist Church report says church membership dipped to a new low last year, dropping to under 8 million in the United States for the first time in nearly 80 years. The church's General Council on Finance…
Leland Center receives accreditation; faculty lauded for ‘notable scholarship’
ARLINGTON, Va. (ABP) — The John Leland Center for Theological Studies received full accreditation status from the Association of Theological Schools June 15. It now offers diploma, master of divinity, and master of theological studies classes to roughly 150 students…
BWA presses Vietnam on religious freedom
(ABP) — A Baptist World Alliance-led delegation recently returned from Vietnam, where they pressed government officials to ensure greater religious freedom in the rapidly Westernizing nation. Vietnamese-American Baptists and top officials from the Baptist World Alliance, the Baptist General Convention…
Study counts 1,600 ordained, Baptist women in the South
ATLANTA (ABP) — Roughly 1,600 Baptist women in the southern United States have been ordained to the ministry, according to a new report released by Baptist Women in Ministry. The study reviewed women in churches affiliated with the Alliance of…
2nd Georgia church votes to join BGAV
First Baptist Church in Dalton, Ga., has voted to join the 1,400 congregations affiliated with the Baptist General Association of Virginia. The church, which unanimously approved the action June 25, is the second Georgia congregation to join the BGAV. First…