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…
Church strategy plans reveal what’s working & what’s not
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (ABP) — Warning that “inertia is against planning,” Mark Wingfield said churches must make an intentional effort to achieve effective long-range planning. Wingfield, associate pastor of Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas, was among more than 140 workshop leaders…
Conservative, liberal groups react swiftly to Edwards pick
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Sen. John Edwards is now officially John Kerry's running mate, and the reactions among social-issues advocacy groups are as unsurprising as Kerry's choice. Reaction was swift July 6 to the Massachusetts Democrat's choice of his Senate colleague…
Presbyterians decide narrowly to keep bar on gay ordination
RICHMOND, Va. (ABP) — The Presbyterian Church (USA) rejected a recommendation July 2 that would have made it easier for non-celibate homosexuals to be ordained in the church. Delegates to the denomination's meeting also agreed to enter into a period…
Three Texas churches lead direct missions effort
(ABP) — Three Texas churches have their mission eyes looking steadily southward, and they've banded together to reach a people group that years ago fled to the isolation of Mexico's mountains. The Tarahumara Indians live high in the Sierra Madre…
Bush campaign provokes criticism for ‘intruding’ into congregations
WASHINGTON (ABP) — A recent Bush-Cheney campaign tactic targeting “conservative” churches and their members has triggered disapproval among church-state watchdog groups, including the Southern Baptist Convention and Americans United for Separation of Church and State. The campaign reportedly sent out…
News briefs from ABP’s Washington Bureau
Kerry: Life begins at conception DUBUQUE, Iowa — Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) told an Iowa reporter that he personally opposes abortion and believes life begins at conception. However, he said, in an interview that appeared July 4 in the Dubuque…
Educators ask, BWA agrees to recite Apostles’ Creed at 2005 congress
BUIES CREEK, N.C. (ABP) — A group of 28 theologians and educators is asking the Baptist World Alliance to recite the Apostles' Creed at the group's 100th anniversary meeting next year, which would replicate the first act of the BWA…
Fellowship names task force to explore BWA partnership
ATLANTA (ABP) — The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship's new moderator has appointed a task force to explore ways the Fellowship can be a good partner to the Baptist World Alliance, which accepted the Fellowship into membership last year. Bob Setzer, pastor…
Concern for First Amendment rights on the rise, survey says
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) — Americans' confidence in the First Amendment, which fell after the attacks of 9/11, is up again, according to a new survey. The First Amendment Center of Nashville, Tenn., has released its 2004 survey results on the…
Supreme Court deals blow to law targeting Internet porn
WASHINGTON (ABP) — A federal law attempting to make it harder for kids to access Internet pornography cannot be enforced because it likely violates the First Amendment, the U.S. Supreme Court said June 29. The justices ruled that a lower…