OLNEY, Ky. (ABP) — Lafayette Baptist Church, a rural Kentucky congregation that dates back to the late 1800s, lost its church facility in an apparent arson attack May 20. The fire, reportedly set early Saturday morning, was not discovered until…
Baptist groups send workers, supplies, funds to help victims of Java quake
YOGYAKARTA, Indonesia (ABP) — Several Baptist groups have joined the worldwide outpouring of support for victims of a deadly 6.3-magnitude earthquake, which killed more than 5,700 people May 27. More than 200,000 people remain homeless, according to the Indonesian government….
Ex-IMB missionaries find funding, return to Brazilian mission field
DALLAS (ABP) — Don and Angie Finley, Southern Baptist missionaries since 1988, resigned from their post in Brazil in July 2003 and returned to the United States rather than affirm the denomination's new, more conservative doctrinal statement. Now — three…
Herald to begin radio broadcast
Understanding its mission to be communicating effectively with Virginia Baptists, the Religious Herald will begin a 15-minute radio program to present and interpret various news items affecting Virginia Baptists and our larger Christian family. Programs will be aired twice weekly…
Couples married for 50-plus years offer advice in church celebration
HOUSTON (ABP) — It not only takes a village to raise a child; it takes a village to make marriage successful, some long-married Baptist couples said. Members of Houston's Tallowood Baptist Church agreed, and they recently honored 139 couples from…
Pastoral counseling a vital part of wedding plans, pastors say
ATHENS, Texas (ABP) — Like many pastors nationwide, Kyle Henderson finds great fulfillment in conducting weddings and preparing couples for marriage. And he treasures thank-you notes he receives from couples — particularly the ones he refused to marry. The wedding…
Texas law professor assigned to Rio Grande church-start probe
HOUSTON (ABP) — The Baptist General Convention of Texas has engaged Brownsville attorney Diane Dillard to investigate alleged mishandling of church-starting funds in the Rio Grande Valley. Suspicions involve church starts in the lower Rio Grande Valley from 1996 to…
ANOTHER VIEW: Always preach for commitment — and expect a response
Another View for May 4, 2005 By Rick Warren Baptist Press When we were getting ready for the first service of Saddleback Church 26 years ago, I planned to extend a traditional “come forward” altar call at the end of…
Fashion, faith promote success for down-and-out women
ALBERTVILLE, Ala. (ABP) — For Jean Cullen, the national coordinator of the Christian Women's Job Corps, success starts on the inside — and must be reflected on the outside as well. Cullen, who heads the national organization aimed at teaching…
ANOTHER VIEW: Fear factor slows growth of gospel in Egypt
Some time ago, the elder sister in an Egyptian Muslim family decided to follow Jesus Christ as Lord. Instead of keeping her faith a secret, as many Muslim-background believers do, she told her younger sister-who also became a believer. One…
Beefed-up NC policy would oust churches that tolerate gay members
ASHEBORO, N.C. (ABP) — Leaders of the North Carolina Baptist State Convention have beefed up a policy designed to oust local churches that affirm homosexuality or even tolerate gay church members. Meeting in Asheboro, N.C., the convention's executive committee and…
ANOTHER VIEW: Entertaining ourselves to death
Aerican society and even Christians, it seems, are surrendering to the insatiable desire to be entertained. Our quest for amusement has become not only a national pasttime, it has become an addiction. There is little about life in the United…