WASHINGTON (ABP) — Only one of the seven major Democratic candidates for president expressed support for school vouchers, according to an Associated Press poll. Associated Press has been polling major presidential candidates three times a week on major issues. On…
N.C. moderates discuss options, but most staying put for now
GREENSBORO, N.C. (ABP) — Moderate Baptists in North Carolina began Jan. 23 what they admit could be a slow and messy process of rethinking their participation in the traditional state convention, which some say no longer represents them. “The days…
North Carolina CBF coordinator to step down amid changes
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (ABP) — Bob Patterson, coordinator of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina, has announced plans to step down “sometime during 2004.” Patterson, hired in February 1999 as the state organization's first coordinator, made the announcement Jan. 20…
Senators approve DC vouchers; opponents vow legal responses
WASHINGTON (ABP) — The Senate gave final approval Jan. 22 to a bill that includes the nation's first federally funded school-voucher program. Senators voted 65-28 to approve the massive appropriations package, which comes four months late and includes funding for…
Bush touts faith, charity, abstinence in third State of the Union address
WASHINGTON (ABP) — President Bush delivered a confident and combative State of the Union address Jan. 20 that included calls for Congress to expand the government's ability to fund social services through churches and an appeal for more abstinence-based sex…
Filibuster continues on bill containing DC vouchers
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Disputes over several issues Jan. 20 stalled final passage of a massive appropriations package that includes what would become the nation's first federally funded school-voucher program. However, most observers said the bill will probably pass within the…
IMB opens sex-abuse hotline for missionaries
RICHMOND, Va. (ABP) — The International Mission Board has set up a toll-free telephone line for missionaries and their families to report incidents of sexual abuse. The Southern Baptist agency, which has 5,600 active missionaries, has sent the phone number…
Philanthropist Paul Piper dead at 86
APOLLO BEACH, Fla. (ABP) — Longtime philanthropist Paul Piper Sr., whose generosity provided funds for education and research to many organizations, including Baptist ones, died Jan 17 in Apollo Beach, Fla. He was 86. A self-made businessman, the Tennessee native…
Women’s group affirms BWA despite planned SBC withdrawal
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (ABP) — Woman's Missionary Union, the women's auxiliary to the Southern Baptist Convention, came out in support of the Baptist World Alliance Jan. 12, breaking ranks with the Southern Baptist leaders who want to withdraw SBC membership and…
Minnesota man wants church donation back
CLOQUET, Minn. (ABP) — A 55-year-old Minnesota man is suing a local church because it won't give back a $126,000 donation he made five years ago. Marcel Mager of Cloquet, Minn., said he made the anonymous donation, nearly all his…
Yancey offers comfort for ‘spiritual explorers’
DALLAS (ABP) — In 1520, as Ferdinand Magellan's ships rounded the tip of South America, lookouts sighted people on the shore carrying burning torches. But the natives seemed oblivious to Magellan's galleons that had suddenly appeared close to their shore….
Bush will address marriage, charity in State of Union speech
WASHINGTON (ABP) — In what many view as the unofficial kick-off of his 2004 re-election campaign, President Bush will speak to the issue of marriage as well as his attempts to fund social work through religious charities during tonight's State…