FORT WORTH, Texas (ABP) — Claude Thomas, who resigned as pastor of First Baptist Church of Euless, Texas, three weeks ago to become chaplain and special assistant to the president at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, abruptly declined the new position…
Baptist Joint Committee receives $100,000 lectureship endowment
WASHINGTON (ABP) — A Baptist historian and his wife have given a Baptist religious-liberty group a large gift to establish a lectureship on church-state issues. The Washington-based Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty announced the $100,000 gift from Walter and…
Judge finds no racketeering in Criswell College lawsuit
DALLAS (ABP) — A district judge found no evidence of racketeering by either the W.A. Criswell Foundation or Criswell College in a dispute with a computer contractor. The suit arose from an agreement John Thomas, a Baptist layman and founder…
Anglican leaders ask U.S. church to apologize for electing gay bishop
LONDON (ABP) — An Anglican study commission is asking the U.S. Episcopal Church to apologize for electing a gay bishop, warning that if the church refuses it could lead to a split within the worldwide Anglican Communion. The report, released…
Author: Religious conflict to continue as Christianity shifts to south
ATLANTA (ABP) — Christians need to prepare for religious struggles ahead as the center of Christianity shifts to the south, says historian and author Philip Jenkins. In his book, “The Next Christendom,” Jenkins says by the year 2050 the heart…
Pelosi appoints Balkans expert to religious-freedom commission
WASHINGTON (ABP) — House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has appointed a Boston academic who is an expert on international relations and religious issues to a federal panel that monitors religious freedom worldwide. Pelosi appointed Boston University professor Elizabeth Prodromou…
Evangelical professor’s study shows abortion rise under Bush
WASHINGTON (ABP) — A new statistical analysis by an evangelical seminary professor suggests the abortion rate has risen under President Bush, an abortion opponent, after falling for years under his pro-choice predecessor, Bill Clinton. Glen Stassen, a trained statistician and…
Public policy should be measured by social justice, Forbes says
WACO, Texas (ABP) — Biblical justice demands either a change of heart or change of resident in the White House, renowned preacher James Forbes told a symposium at Baylor University's Truett Theological Seminary. Reading from the Old Testament book of…
Gary Baldridge to leave CBF missions post he shares with wife, will pursue writing
ATLANTA (ABP) — Gary Baldridge, who with his wife has led the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship's global missions effort for five years, will leave CBF at the end of the year to return to a career in writing. Daniel Vestal, CBF…
Fellowship reports record donations, led by large gifts to missions
ATLANTA (ABP) — The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship finished its 2003-04 fiscal year June 30 with revenues of $24.26 million, the highest-ever annual total. The record total included undesignated contributions of $8,869,883, designated gifts of $8,709,160, and a global missions offering…
New Orleans Seminary trustees say yes to ‘sole membership’ with reservations (updated)
NEW ORLEANS (ABP) — After months of sometimes pointed discussion, New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary trustees agreed Oct. 13 to adopt proposed charter amendments designed to tie it securely to the Southern Baptist Convention — but with some reservations. Spending…
Abortion, gay rights, faith discussed in 3rd and final Bush-Kerry debate
WASHINGTON (ABP) — President George W. Bush and Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry revealed their deep disagreements over some social issues important to religious voters — but both spoke candidly and passionately about their respective Christian faiths in the third and…