WASHINGTON (ABP) — A broad coalition of concerned parties — including Nobel laureates, scientific leaders, foreign countries and American religious denominations — is urging the Supreme Court to ban the death penalty for offenders who were under 18 at the…
Truett Seminary prof dies after battle with cancer
HOUSTON (ABP) — Chip Conyers, one of Truett Theological Seminary's first faculty members, died July 18 at the age of 60 in Houston following a long struggle with cancer. Conyers — whose full named was Abdah Johnson Conyers — “possessed…
Money-strapped American Baptists warn missionaries of possible recall
VALLEY FORGE, Pa. (ABP) — The American Baptists Churches USA may lose up to a fifth of its missionary force unless its mission agency can raise enough money to overcome its current financial crisis. The head of International Ministries, the…
House panel approves bill limiting courts on marriage
WASHINGTON (ABP) — The same day a gay-marriage ban failed to move forward in the Senate, a different approach to opposing same-sex nuptials passed a House committee. The House Judiciary Committee voted July 14 to send the Marriage Protection Act…
Supporters of gay-marriage ban fall short in Senate vote
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Senate supporters of a constitutional ban on gay marriage failed to muster a simple majority in support of the amendment July 14 — meaning the proposal is likely dead in the Senate until next year. A motion…
Vote on marriage amendment may stall on procedural dispute
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Procedural disputes in the Senate will likely prevent an up-or-down vote on a federal same-sex marriage ban that was expected to take place July 14. Disagreements between Republicans and Democrats and within the GOP itself appeared June…
Virginia editor leaving for Richmond pastorate
RICHMOND, Va. (ABP) — Michael Clingenpeel, editor and business manager of Virginia Baptists' newspaper for the past 12 years, will be the next pastor of River Road Church, Baptist, in Richmond, Va. Succeeding James Slatton, who retired in 2003 after…
‘Notebook’ writer finds success in trend toward ‘moral fiction’
NEW BERN, N.C. (ABP) — To be the best-selling, tear-jerking master writer of romantic fiction, Nicholas Sparks' own life seems, well, pretty mundane. Spinning heart-throbbing tales is not what life is all about for Sparks, author of “The Notebook,” his…
Louisiana College elects trustee chair as resigning leader claims foul
PINEVILLE, La. (ABP) — Trustees of Louisiana College, faced with the resignation of their chairman and the school's president, elected a new trustee leader in a closed-door, off-campus meeting July 9. Bill Hudson, pastor of First Baptist Church in Rayne,…
Historic church handed back to Chinese Christians
SHANGHAI, China (ABP) — The 135-year-old Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity in Shanghai, China, was handed back to Chinese Christians in June, according to the Church Times of London. Built in 1869, the gothic cathedral is a symbol of…
Louisiana College board chair resigns; school’s accreditation under investigation
PINEVILLE, La. (ABP) — The chairman of Louisiana College's board of trustees is the latest school official to resign after trustees instituted several controversial new policies. The Louisiana Baptist school also is under investigation by its accrediting agency, the Southern…
Bush-Cheney effort causes ethics leader to remind churches about tax status
DALLAS (ABP) — Recently publicized efforts by President Bush's re-election campaign to target “conservative churches” have caused the leader of Texas Baptists' public-ethics agency to issue a strong reminder to congregations about how to avoid risking their tax-exempt legal status…