WASHINGTON (ABP) — Congress has now intervened in the emotional dispute over a brain-damaged Florida woman's fate. Doctors were scheduled to remove the feeding tube keeping Terri Schiavo alive March 18, unless Florida legislators pass their own bill aimed at…
Kerry, Santorum say they will reintroduce Workplace Religious Freedom Act
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Congressional supporters of religious freedom will try once again with an employees' religious rights bill they've been trying to get passed for more than eight years. At a Capitol press conference March 17, Sens. John Kerry (D-Mass.)…
Faith and Politics conference postponed due to Parham prolonged illness
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) — Due to the prolonged illness of Baptist Center for Ethics Executive Director Robert Parham, a scheduled conference on faith and politics has been postponed indefinitely. Parham was diagnosed late last week with acute leukemia. He is…
Peace activist, pastor Carman Sharp dies at 87
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (ABP) – Carman Sharp, longtime peace activist and Kentucky Baptist pastor, died March 14. He was 87. Sharp, who retired in 1984 after 23 years as pastor of Deer Park Baptist Church in Louisville, was founder of the…
Evangelicals broaden agenda during meeting
Global warming and other environmental problems have emerged as the most controversial issues within a national coalition trying to broaden the agenda of evangelical Christians. At a Capitol Hill forum March 10, the National Association of Evangelicals formally unveiled a…
Christians aim to expand definition of ‘values’
Hundreds of Christians assembled March 11 for a weekend gathering attempting to protest and broaden the values agenda of President Bush and the Republican-controlled Congress. The four-day Ecumenical Advocacy Days for Global Peace with Justice was sponsored in part by…
Templeton prize goes to bridge builder
Charles Townes, a Nobel laureate who helped invent the laser and was an early pioneer in merging science and religion, has won the 2005 Templeton Prize and the more than $1.5 million that comes with it. “Charles Townes helped to…
Texas Baptists to produce BWA Bible studies
BaptistWay Press, the publishing arm of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, will produce the Bible study materials for this summer's Baptist World Alliance Centenary Congress in Birmingham, England. The Texas publisher replaces LifeWay Christian Resources, the publishing arm of…
Du Plessis elected in Richmond association
Peter L. du Plessis has been elected missions team leader for the Richmond Baptist Association. Du Plessis was elected to the position, which is the equivalent of director of missions, at a special called meeting of the association on March…
Research and humor grow huge flock
By Chris Meehan Bill Hybels stepped onto the stage at Willow Creek Community Church to give a sermon on money management. But the senior pastor of this trend-setting, Chicago-area congregation was not offering a fund-raising message asking the faithful to…
Miller named Eagle Eyrie director
Rod Miller had been named director of Eagle Eyrie Baptist Conference Center. Miller, who has been acting director of Virginia Baptists' conference center near Lynchburg since September 2003, was elected by the Virginia Baptist Mission Board's executive committee during its…
California judge rules in favor of same-sex marriage
SAN FRANCISCO (ABP) — A California trial judge has said a state law banning same-sex marriage violates the California Constitution. San Francisco Superior Court Judge Richard Kramer ruled March 14 that a state law — first passed by California legislators…