BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (ABP) — As they continue to evaluate evidence in a recent string of 10 church fires in rural Alabama, federal investigators have come one step closer to solving the case: They found the getaway car. “It was a…
Churches sign promise to cultivate more clergy through ‘culture of call’
DURHAM, N.C., (ABP) – In a demonstration of their commitment to develop young clergy, roughly 40 churches across the East Coast and Southwest have signed a covenant to coordinate their efforts and hopefully avert a clergy shortage. As founding members…
South Dakota abortion ban targets Roe, but will it work?
WASHINGTON (ABP) — A wide-ranging abortion ban that South Dakota legislators passed Feb. 24 is poised to head exactly where its backers want it — the Supreme Court. But despite the addition of two new conservative justices, the high court…
IRS investigation discovers illegal electioneering by churches in 2004
WASHINGTON (ABP) — A report from the Internal Revenue Service determined that nearly three quarters of the churches and other charities it investigated violated federal tax laws during the 2004 election. The report, released Feb. 24 by a special IRS…
Government agrees to stop funding controversial abstinence program
BOSTON (ABP) — The federal government will stop funding a teen-abstinence program that bills itself as an “evangelistic ministry” and gives teenagers silver rings inscribed with a Bible passage. The American Civil Liberties Union, which in May sued the Department…
Baylor administrator Brumley follows Underwood to Mercer
MACON, Ga. (ABP) — Baylor University administrator Larry Brumley has been named senior vice president and chief of staff at Mercer University — following incoming president Bill Underwood, also a former Baylor administrator, to the Georgia school. Underwood, former law…
North Carolina leader resigns over conservative changes
BOONVILLE, N.C. (ABP) — The recent conservative shift in the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina has prompted one member of its governing board to resign, saying the state convention is “becoming a subsidiary of the Southern Baptist Convention.” Ken…
Alabama church finds movie theater spurs growth in student ministry
TRUSSVILLE, Ala. (ABP) — It's a typical scene at the Regal 16 Cinemas in Trussville, Ala. Teenagers are milling around and loud music blasts from one of the theaters in the complex. A bus pulls up to the curb to…
Stallings, pastor singled out in King’s ‘Letter from Birmingham Jail,’ dies
LAKELAND, Fla. (ABP) — A white Baptist pastor who was made both famous and infamous by Martin Luther King Jr.'s legendary “Letter From Birmingham Jail” has died. Earl Stallings, who was pastor of Birmingham's First Baptist Church when King penned…
Campbell divinity program to equip students for ministry, counseling
BUIES CREEK, N.C. (ABP) — Campbell University's Divinity School and School of Education have teamed up to form a new degree — the master of divinity/master of arts in community counseling. The program is unusual in that it combines theological…
Shiloh Network to help churches become more ‘reproductive’
DURHAM, N.C. (ABP) — Moderate Baptists and mules have a lot in common. Both are strong and hard-working, and both have problems reproducing — at least according to Curtis Freeman. But a nationwide network of churches is banding together to…
Pastoral misconduct about power, ethics panelists say
WACO, Texas (ABP) – Sexual misconduct occurs among ministers at a rate higher than among other trusted professions such as doctors and lawyers, Joe Trull told ministers at an ethics conference at Baylor University's Truett Seminary. At its heart, sexual…