WASHINGTON (ABP) — One of the Religious Right's congressional heroes is leaving Congress under a cloud, just days after he appeared at a conference where the organizer said the attacks on him were part of a “war on Christians.” In…
Longtime Illinois columnist Tom Adams, 75, dies
ELGIN, Ill. (ABP) — Tom Adams, who penned one of the longest-running columns for a state Baptist newspaper, died April 1 following a heart attack. He was 75. “Tom's humility and his lack of pretense were qualities that endeared him…
Afghan president Karzai praises treatment of exiled Christian
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Afghanistan's president praised his government April 4 for releasing a Christian who had been threatened with death for abandoning Islam. Hamid Karzai said the nation's judiciary was right not to bow to pressure from Muslim clerics and…
Paul Corts named 5th president of Christian college council
DALLAS (ABP) — Former Baptist college president Paul Corts has been named the fifth president of the 30-year-old Council for Christian Colleges and Universities. The selection of Corts, who has served as assistant attorney general for administration for the U.S….
Former SBC president Graham plans 2nd campus for Prestonwood Church
DALLAS (ABP) — Prestonwood Baptist Church, the 25,000-member megachurch near Dallas, has announced plans to build a second facility roughly 20 miles north of the existing campus. Former Southern Baptist president Jack Graham has served as pastor at Prestonwood, one…
Texas woman nominated as next CBF moderator
DALLAS (ABP) — Texas leadership consultant Harriet Harral will be nominated as the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship's moderator-elect, the highest elected position in the national group. “I am both humbled and excited,” Harral told Associated Baptist Press. “CBF is so blessed…
Catholics, mainliners, Jews, evangelicals unite to support immigration reform
WASHINGTON (ABP) — The debate over immigration reform currently dividing America at large — and congressional Republicans in particular — ironically is uniting a wide spectrum of the religious community that views immigration reform as a moral issue. The Roman…
Children’s ministry disaster relief trailer arrives
Virginia Baptists are moving forward in their plans for ministering to children and their families who are affected by natural disasters. Members of the Children's Ministry Disaster Response Unit met with Terry Raines, the Virginia Baptist Mission Board's disaster relief…
IMB won’t remove trustee, but prohibits future dissent
Trustees of the Southern Baptist Convention's International Mission Board decided not to seek the removal of one of their own for criticizing trustee actions, but they adopted new guidelines to prohibit and punish such criticism in the future. After a…
NAMB trustees impose controls on Reccord after study
Trustees of the Southern Baptist Convention's North American Mission Board met in an eight-hour closed session March 23, emerging with recommendations that impose “executive-level controls” on NAMB President Bob Reccord and other administrators at the agency. Reccord was not fired,…
Partnership will fund Hispanic ministry in Virginia
Three Baptist organizations have recently partnered to fund ongoing ministry among Hispanics in Virginia. The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, the Baptist General Association of Virginia and Fredericksburg Baptist Church are partnering to provide financial support for Greg and Sue Smith, who…
Catholic diocese in Virginia to allow female altar servers
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Arlington, which had been one of two U.S. dioceses that did not allow girls to be altar servers, will now allow them in parishes if pastors request them. The decision by Arlington Bishop Paul Loverde…