TRENTON, N.J. (ABP) — A divided New Jersey appellate court ruled June 14 against same-sex marriage, but gay-rights activists who filed the suit have promised to appeal. A three-judge panel of the New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division ruled 2-1…
Violence in Rio Grande city Forces mission trips out
NUEVO LAREDO, Mexico (ABP) — Escalating violence in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, prompted the Texas Baptist River Ministry office to issue a safety advisory for the border city and led some volunteer church groups to cancel their planned trips. At least…
News pioneer W.C. Fields to headline ABP dinner at CBF General Assembly
GRAPEVINE, Texas (ABP) — Wilmer C. Fields, a pioneer in the field of Christian journalism, will be the featured speaker at the annual Associated Baptist Press dinner at the CBF General Assembly. The dinner will be held Thursday, June 30,…
Carlton Dotson sentenced to 35 years for murder of Baylor basketball player
Editor's note: This story updates one issued June 9. WACO, Texas (ABP) — Former basketball player Carlton Dotson was sentenced to 35 years in prison June 15 for killing his former Baylor University basketball teammate Patrick Dennehy — despite his…
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…
Virginia Baptist Media Library holds conference
The Virginia Baptist Media Library Association elected officers and focused on “Your Church Library: An Oasis for Growth” during its spring conference May 13-15 at Eagle Eyrie Baptist Conference Center. New-elected officers for 2005-2006 are Jean McChesney, director; Betty Watson,…
American Family Association ends Disney boycott
The American Family Association has announced the end of its boycott of the Walt Disney Co. after nine years. “We feel we have made our point,” said Tim Wildmon, president of the Tupelo, Miss.-based conservative Christian organization, in a statement….
The engaging power of the ‘blogosphere’
Analysis for June 16, 2005 By Amy Green When Mark D. Roberts started his blog, he envisioned a small outreach to his community and parishioners at Irvine Presbyterian Church in Irvine, Calif. A little more than a year later, the…
Ga. Supreme Court rules against Shorter College
The Georgia Supreme Court ruled May 23 that Shorter College trustees acted improperly when they shifted ownership of the college to a newly created foundation with a self-perpetuating board and essentially broke ties with the Georgia Baptist Convention. The 4-3…
No paragon of virtue
Another View for June 16, 2005 By Charles Colson The stunning disclosure that “Deep Throat” was the No. 2 man in the FBI has revived the Watergate-era hysteria. Mark Felt, consummate FBI professional, whom I dealt with often and trusted…
NAMB hopes to increase Hispanic membership
A Southern Baptist task force has urged leaders of the nation's largest Protestant denomination to take “unprecedented” measures to evangelize the growing number of Hispanics in the country. Goals include baptizing more than 50,000 Hispanic converts by 2010 and starting…