Cover Story for June 9, 2005 Popular devotional author Max Lucado has spent much of his ministry on a spiritual journey, allowing God to mold his theological views and transcend his doctrinal roots. His books-now numbering more than 50-are embraced…
SBC, CBF, AOB leaders among diverse group rallying to end U.S. hunger by 2015
By Robert Marus A broad array of religious leaders-including representatives of Baptist groups that often disagree-has launched an ambitious effort to combat domestic hunger and poverty. Several hundred Christian, Jewish, Muslim and other leaders culminated a weekend conference in Washington…
Water evangelism
Cover Story for June 16, 2005 Following the disastrous tsunami that hit the island of Sri Lanka last December, potable water was among the first needs faced by thousands of homeless people and it remains a top priority. Virginia Baptists…
Senate apologizes for failure to pass anti-lynching law
WASHINGTON (ABP) — The United States Senate has offered a belated apology for something it repeatedly failed to do: Stop a century of lynchings that killed thousands of African-Americans and other minorities. During the 19th and 20th centuries, white mobs…
Revised CBF partner plan raises cap to 25%, increases ‘identity’ schools
Institutions and ministries partnering with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship potentially could receive more funding than recently proposed, and the number of theological schools eligible for the maximum financial support could be greater than previously announced, judging by the final report…
Creator of Living Bible, Ken Taylor, dies at 88
WHEATON, Ill. (ABP) — Kenneth Taylor, whose Living Bible made Scripture understandable for millions of people, died June 10 at the age of 88 at his home in Wheaton, Ill. Taylor based his Living Bible paraphrase, first published in 1971,…
IMB appoints missionaries, sets partner guidelines
Trustees of the Southern Baptist Convention's International Mission Board appointed 116 missionaries-the second-largest group of new missionaries in board history-during their May 19-21 meeting in Midland, Texas. They also adopted guidelines for cooperating with other Great Commission Christian partners overseas;…
Resources help churches celebrate freedom without ‘civil religion’
WASHINGTON, D.C. (ABP) — Three Baptist organizations are teaming up to provide churches with the tools to celebrate American freedoms “without watering down their devotion to God with civil religion.” The First Freedoms Project — led by Associated Baptist Press,…
North Carolina pastor apologizes for church sign about Quran
A North Carolina Baptist pastor has reversed course, removing a sign outside his church suggesting the Muslim holy book should be put in a toilet. In the face of national media attention and overwhelmingly negative response to his actions-including critiques…
Women’s job ministry helps 51-year-old rebuild her life
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) — Holding all her worldly possessions in a half-full garbage bag, Dorothy Ray got off the bus from Nebraska with her 14-year-old daughter. She had lost everything — her home, her car, her pride. Her oldest son,…
Proposed SBC resolution encourages churches to investigate homosexuality in publ
A group that tried last year to get Southern Baptists to encourage parents to pull their children out of public schools is now asking the Southern Baptist Convention to urge churches to investigate whether their local school systems support homosexuality….
Southeastern president warns of SBC weakness
“All is not well” among Southern Baptists, according to seminary president Danny Akin, who cited slumping evangelism statistics as evidence of “grave weakness” in the denomination. The Southern Baptist Convention has “experienced a conservative resurgence, a return to our biblical…