WASHINGTON (ABP) — Rival clergy groups are facing off over a proposal to amend the Constitution to ban same-sex marriage nationwide. A group of about 30 moderate and liberal Christian and Jewish clergy appeared in a Capitol Hill press conference…
South Carolina pastor Frank Page reportedly agrees to SBC nomination
TAYLORS, S.C. (ABP) — Frank Page, a South Carolina pastor with a record of strong financial support of the denomination's budget, reportedly will be nominated for Southern Baptist Convention president next month. Page's decision ensures that messengers to the June…
Burleson sounding more like candidate, but decision will come at 11th hour
ENID, Okla. (ABP) — As the quest for someone to challenge presidential candidate Ronnie Floyd goes unanswered, one interested observer is sounding ever-more-likely to fill the void. Oklahoma pastor Wade Burleson suggested May 17 he would allow his nomination as…
Unrest among SBC conservatives may swell convention attendance
GREENSBORO, N.C. (ABP) — After a decade of steady decline, attendance at the Southern Baptist Convention is expected to jump this year, amid ripples of unrest with the current leadership and perhaps the first openly contested presidential election since 1994….
After heated session, Senate panel approves same-sex marriage ban
WASHINGTON (ABP) — The Senate Judiciary Committee approved a federal ban on same-sex marriage May 18 after heated debate. But critics say the vote has more to do with partisan politics than legal reform. The move sets up a full…
Central Seminary picks suburban site for money-saving campus relocation
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (ABP) — In the culmination of a process designed to improve the school's financial situation, the board of Central Baptist Theological Seminary voted May 12 to move to a suburban facility from its historic inner-city campus. Lisa…
Third seminary president endorses Floyd, who answers critics of his SBC support
LOUISVILLE (ABP) — A third Southern Baptist seminary president has endorsed Arkansas pastor Ronnie Floyd for president of the denomination. Meanwhile, Floyd offered an explanation for his church's relatively low support of the Cooperative Program, which funds Southern Baptists' seminaries…
In Georgia, judge cites technicality to invalidate gay-marriage ban
ATLANTA (ABP) — A state judge has invalidated Georgia's state constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, saying its promoters improperly placed it on the state's general election ballot in 2004. However, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Constance Russell said Georgia's voters…
Correction
In the May 16 story, “Pizza magnate building ‘city of God'; Catholics flock while critics mock,” please change the name of the Baptist Joint Committee in the fifth paragraph from Baptist Joint Committee on Religious Freedom to Baptist Joint Committee…
Pacific region leaves ABC over homosexuality issue
COVINA, Calif. (ABP) — Leaders of the American Baptist Churches of the Pacific Southwest took the final step May 11 to remove the regional group from their national denomination, primarily over its handling of homosexuality. The region's board of directors…
Correction
In the May 15 story, “Kentucky Baptist board affirms college's ouster on gay student,” please change the long-term goal in the last paragraph from 60 percent to 40 percent.
Another agency head endorses Floyd as search for 2nd candidate continues
WAKE FOREST, N.C. (ABP) — A second seminary president has endorsed Ronnie Floyd for Southern Baptist Convention president, despite an admonishment from the convention's chief executive, Morris Chapman. In an email to students and others May 15, Danny Akin, president…