WASHINGTON (ABP) — Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito has reportedly downplayed comments he made 20 years ago strongly opposing abortion and Supreme Court precedents on church-state issues. The comments, publicized Nov. 15, came in a letter he wrote in 1985…
Adrian Rogers dies at 74; leader in SBC takeover
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (ABP) — The man whose election as president of the Southern Baptist Convention in 1979 began a 25-year-long upheaval that split the denomination has died at the age of 74. Adrian Rogers, pastor emeritus of Bellevue Baptist Church…
Conservatives gain ground in N.C. but retain budget that funds CBF
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (ABP) — Conservatives in North Carolina elected their candidate as president, replaced the interim executive director of the Baptist State Convention, approved new institutional trustees without dissent, and toughened their stance against gay-friendly churches. But they failed in…
North Carolina Baptists vote again to exclude gay-friendly churches
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (ABP) — Any church that “knowingly affirms, approves, or endorses homosexual behavior” will no longer be allowed as a member of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina. “It is most important that we as a convention uphold…
Georgia Baptists vote to sever ties with Mercer over gay-rights group
COLUMBUS, Ga. (ABP) — Georgia Baptists voted Nov. 15 to begin the process of severing their last ties with Mercer University, one of the nation's oldest and largest Baptist institutions of higher learning. The move comes in the immediate wake…
High court sidesteps attempt to remove ‘In God We Trust’
WASHINGTON (ABP) — The Supreme Court has declined an attempt to have the words “In God We Trust” removed from the front of a North Carolina county government building. The justices declined, without comment, Nov. 14 to hear a case…
‘Pray to Darwin,’ Robertson tells city that rejected intelligent design
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (ABP) — Religious broadcaster Pat Robertson set off another wave of blogger reaction Nov. 10 after warning residents of Dover, Pa., that disaster may strike them because they “voted God out of their city.” Robertson made his…
Virginia Baptists cut 2006 budget as churches divert disaster funds
WOODBRIDGE, Va. (ABP) — Virginia Baptists approved a reduced budget for 2006 during a peaceful annual meeting Nov. 10-11 which focused on worship and a new mission partnership. About 850 messengers registered for the Baptist General Association of Virginia's 182nd…
Arkansas Baptists oppose gambling, homosexuality, create new agency
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (ABP) — Messengers to the Arkansas Baptist State Convention Nov. 7-9 passed seven resolutions, including ones opposing casino and lottery gambling, the sale of beer on college campuses, and homosexual activism. The 939 messengers also called for…
Rotary teams with CBF of Louisiana, gives $50,000 to Katrina relief efforts
LACOMBE, La. (ABP) — The Rotary Foundation has awarded a $50,000 grant to aid in the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Louisiana's hurricane relief efforts in Lacombe, a small Creole community about 25 miles north of New Orleans. Earmarked to restore…
Texas marriage amendment passes but debate continues over impact
DALLAS (ABP) — Texas voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment Nov. 8 defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. By a two-to-one margin, voters approved Proposition 2, which bolstered the state's ban on same-sex marriage by…
Gray resigns Alabama CBF job to take full-time pastorate
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (ABP) — Mart Gray, who has served for eight years as the coordinator of the Alabama Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, has resigned to become the full-time pastor of a new church. Gray has served part-time as pastor of Covenant…