ROSWELL, Ga. (ABP) — Ministering to soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan can be as simple as a conversation and a cup of coffee, according to a long-time military chaplain. Battle takes a toll on soldiers, said Bob Vickers, former…
Revised CBF partner plan raises cap to 25%, increases ‘identity’ schools
ATLANTA (ABP) — 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…
Ga. Supreme Court rules against Shorter in dispute with Baptist convention
ROME, Ga. (ABP) — 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…
Florida church won’t cover cross for high-school grad ceremonies
MELBOURNE, Fla. (ABP) — Calvary Chapel in Melbourne, Fla., won't cover the cross in its sanctuary to quiet critics who say holding four high-school graduation ceremonies in the building violates the Constitution. “We don't mind having them use the facility,…
Nominee’s record provides fodder for both sides in filibuster fight
WASHINGTON (ABP) — An epic Senate battle over President Bush's judicial nominees has begun. And the woman who is in the middle of it is providing fodder for both sides in the caustic debate. Opponents of nominee Priscilla Owen say…
Federal judge who lost husband, mother warns of link between rhetoric, violence
WASHINGTON (ABP) — The federal judge who recently lost her husband and mother to a disgruntled claimant had strong words of caution for “some members of Congress” and televangelist Pat Robertson May 18. Federal District Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow criticized…
World Baptists more interested in unity than U.S. squabbles, BWA head says
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (ABP) — Baptists of the world are more interested in unity and ministry than in denominational squabbles like the one dividing Baptists in the southern United States, said Denton Lotz, general secretary of the Baptist World Alliance. “It's…
Beheading of Christian leader in Bangladesh second in a year
JALALPUR, Bangladesh (ABP) — A Baptist lay pastor has been beheaded in Bangladesh, the second Christian leader to lose his life in that country in a year, according to a Christian news organization. Dulal Sarkar, 35, was attacked as he…
Protesters oppose Christian university planned for Moscow neighborhood
MOSCOW (ABP) – About 100 people picketed a district assembly building in Moscow May 17 because they said plans for a private Russian-American Christian college in a local neighborhood is a threat to the Russian Orthodox Church. According to the…
Church & People News for May 19, 2005
Staff Changes Larry Davis, to Skinquarter Church, Chesterfield, as pastor. Andrew J. Matthews, to Elon Church, Pamplin, as pastor. Shea Shrader, to Harman Memorial Church, Maxie, as pastor. Frank Johnson, to First Church, Woodbridge, as full-time executive pastor. Charles Weatherford,…
Danny Akin warns of ‘grave weakness’ behind SBC’s slumping evangelism
WAKE FOREST, N.C. (ABP) — “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,…
Federal judge strikes down Nebraska amendment banning gay marriage
WASHINGTON (ABP) — For the first time, a federal judge has overturned a state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. On May 12, U.S. District Judge Joseph Bataillon of Nebraska said that state's ban on gay marriage and other same-sex legal…