CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. (ABP) — When Paul Pressler and Paige Patterson launched a revolution within the Southern Baptist Convention, they found an eager soldier in Ron Phillips. Phillips, 58, has been pastor of Central Baptist Church of Hixson, near Chattanooga, Tenn.,…
Revised Air Force religion guidelines continue ban on sectarian prayers
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Pentagon officials have revised a set of guidelines on religious freedom in the Air Force after complaints from members of Congress and some religious groups. But the revisions met with mixed reviews from groups with interests in…
Diverse Baptist groups unite to help Katrina victims find housing
BATON ROUGE, La. (ABP) — After months of sharing two houses with dozens of family members, the Nero family — formerly of New Orleans — is thanking a broad new Baptist partnership for helping them get their own apartment. Since…
Unique partnership assists pastors, churches affected by Katrina
NEW ORLEANS (ABP) — By now the 10-year-old True Believers Baptist Church should have been in its comfortable, new facility with room to grow. But the sanctuary, classrooms and fellowship hall the young congregation was building are dark, empty and…
Mac Brunson of Dallas likely to follow Vines as pastor of Jacksonville church
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (ABP) — Less than a week after bidding farewell to retiring pastor Jerry Vines, First Baptist Church of Jacksonville — one of the country's largest congregations — is expected to nominate Dallas pastor Mac Brunson as his successor….
Fires damage four more churches in rural Alabama — all Baptist
DALLAS (ABP) — Fire damaged four more rural Baptist churches in Alabama the morning of Feb. 7, bringing the total number of Alabama churches recently burned to nine. All of the churches affected were Baptist. The second batch of fires…
Iranian paper gives cartoon retaliation as Muslim protests, violence continue
DALLAS (ABP) — As violent protests to caricatures of Muhammad intensify in the Muslim world, an Iranian newspaper has found a new way to express outrage: holding a contest for cartoons to make light of the Holocaust and its victims….
Christians who pledge abstinence outlast non-pledgers, study says
WACO, Texas (ABP) — A new survey of Baptist newlyweds suggests that, though true love does not always wait, it waits more often if it starts with a formal pledge of purity. While a majority of church-going young couples in…
BJC leader warns civil religion can become ‘idolatry of nation’
Jim Newton/CBF Miss. BJC Director Brent Walker speaks at Northside Baptist Church, Clinton, Miss. CLINTON, Miss. (ABP) — A Baptist religious-freedom expert is warning that the spike in American public religiosity that has resulted from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks…
Editorial cartoon sparks violence against Lebanese Christians
BEIRUT, Lebanon (ABP) — Incensed Muslims sacked Christian neighborhoods and burned the Danish Embassy in Lebanon Feb. 5, angered by the publication of caricatures of the prophet Muhammad. Although some Muslim leaders appealed for peace, more than 20,000 protesters threw…
White House budget proposal for 2007 includes cuts in social programs, taxes
WASHINGTON (ABP) — President Bush formally presented Congress Feb. 6 with a $2.77 trillion budget proposal that would increase military spending and extend tax cuts but reduce spending on social programs such as Medicaid and Medicare. The announcement comes just…
New Mexico Baptists accept Bunce as new executive director
DALLAS (ABP) — After a 17-month-long search, the Baptist Convention of New Mexico has unanimously elected Joseph Bunce as executive director. The assignment became effective immediately. Bunce replaces Claude Cone, who announced his plans for retirement in July 2004. Cone…