(RNS) — Justices of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court took up arguments on May 4 about whether to kill a proposed citizens' referendum to ban gay marriage. A lawyer for a gay rights organization told the state's highest court that…
Robertson claims church-state group co-opted by communists, ACLU
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson is once again making waves with comments on his “700 Club” television broadcast — this time criticizing a church-state watchdog group he frequently battles. Robertson, who has made worldwide headlines several times in…
Texas Baptists to hire outside lawyer to investigate church-starting funds
DALLAS (ABP) — An attorney will guide an investigation into alleged mishandling of Texas Baptist money to start churches in the Rio Grande Valley. Charles Wade, executive director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, has asked the convention's elected…
Mysteries behind Da Vinci movie based on ‘hoax’ of secret society, experts say
DALLAS (ABP) — The most debated movie of the year, The Da Vinci Code, is built on a premise that was revealed as a hoax more than 10 years ago, say historians, art experts and theologians. Dan Brown's best-selling book…
Ronnie Floyd nomination sparks talk of weak SBC support, fire-truck baptistry
SPRINGDALE, Ark. (ABP) — News of the nomination of Arkansas megachurch pastor Ronnie Floyd to be the next Southern Baptist Convention president has brought new attention to his church's high-tech evangelism methods and lackluster financial support of the denomination he…
SBC narrowness calls for repentance, reform, say disgruntled conservatives at meeting
About 30 Southern Baptist conservatives from diverse backgrounds are repenting of the triumphalism, arrogance and isolationism they say threatens the integrity of the 16 million-member denomination. Saying they represent “disparate constituencies” in the Southern Baptist Convention, the participants met behind…
Inconsistent actions
I read with interest two Baptist Press articles printed on the same page in the May 4 issue of the Herald. The first, headlined “ ‘Everyone Can' to be the focus of SBC meeting,” concerns the upcoming annual meeting of…
Reinstated Africa missionaries accept IMB guidelines for church planting
Under a new agreement, officials at the Southern Baptist Convention's International Mission Board have reinstated a missionary couple they threatened to fire for establishing a church that was not explicitly Baptist in the African nation of Guinea. Wyman and Michelle…
Floyd to be nominated SBC president, but other candidates likely to follow
Ronnie Floyd, pastor of the largest Southern Baptist church in Arkansas, will be nominated as president of the Southern Baptist Convention next month. Georgia pastor Johnny Hunt, who until a week ago was the nominee favored by the SBC's conservative…
American Baptists still headed toward split over theology
(ABP) — After years of conflict centering mainly on the issue of homosexuality, a large regional body of the American Baptist Churches USA has voted to continue the process of separating itself from the denomination. In an April 29 meeting…
GuideStone cancels annual wellness walk
The Living@YourBest Wellness Walk/Run scheduled to be held during the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention in Greensboro, N.C., has been canceled for this year, but will resume at the convention in 2007. “We are disappointed that we won't…
NAMB cancels controversial contracts in effort to restore ‘Baptist confidence’
JERSEY CITY, N.J. (ABP) — The North American Mission Board has canceled four controversial contracts initiated by former president Bob Reccord that critics said were wasting Southern Baptist missions money. The cancellations, which reportedly will save millions of dollars, were…