WASHINGTON (ABP) — Republican leaders in the House and Senate have quietly slipped a measure into a federal appropriations bill that would create the first federally sponsored school-voucher program. The proposal, which would create a publicly funded scholarship program for…
Eldorado bus crash claims another victim
ELDORADO, Texas (ABP) — The October bus crash that killed five members of First Baptist Church in Eldorado, Texas, and three of their friends has claimed another life. Billy Frank Blaylock, 78, died Nov. 17 at a San Angelo hospital…
Daytona Beach church ousted over female co-pastor
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (ABP) — Central Baptist Church in Daytona Beach, Fla., has been removed from membership in the Halifax Baptist Association because of the congregation's female co-pastor. Sonja Phillips and her husband, Dave, were hired as co-pastors of the…
Massachusetts court legalizes gay marriage but stops short of issuing marriage licenses
[UPDATED] WASHINGTON (ABP) — The first shoe dropped in America's legal debate over gay-marriage when a closely divided Massachusetts court ruled Nov. 18 that a state agency could not deny same-sex couples the right to marry. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial…
Gay marriage won’t necessarily spread from Massachusetts, experts predict
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Will the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court's decision to legalize same-sex marriage cause the first collapse in a house of cards that will ultimately lead to gay marriage in all 50 states? Although many on both sides of…
Virginia Baptists withhold Averett money over gay dispute, elect pro-SBC president
RICHMOND, Va. (ABP) — Virginia Baptists have taken action that may end their 144-year-old tie to Averett University unless a conflict over homosexuality and biblical authority is resolved. Meeting Nov. 13-14 in Richmond, Va., messengers to the annual meeting of…
Louisiana Baptists elect officers unopposed, sell retirement home
LAFAYETTE, La. (ABP) — Louisiana Baptists, meeting Nov. 10-11 in Lafayette, approved the sale of the state's retirement center and elected, with no opposition, a slate of officers endorsed by conservatives during the annual meeting of the Louisiana Baptist Convention….
Tampa-area pastor re-elected at peaceful Florida Baptist meeting
TAMPA, Fla. (ABP) — Florida Baptists experienced a harmonious meeting and re-elected Tampa-area pastor Tommy Green to an uncontested second term as president during the annual Florida Baptist State Convention meeting Nov. 10-11 at the Sun Dome in Tampa. The…
Tampa-area pastor re-elected at peaceful Florida Baptist meeting
TAMPA, Fla. (ABP) — Florida Baptists experienced a harmonious meeting and re-elected Tampa-area pastor Tommy Green to an uncontested second term as president during the annual Florida Baptist State Convention meeting Nov. 10-11 at the Sun Dome in Tampa. The…
S.C. Baptists hold line on budget, approve South Asia partnership
COLUMBIA, S.C. (ABP) — The 1,230 registered messengers attending the 183rd annual meeting of the South Carolina Baptist Convention adopted a $32.15 million budget for 2004, approved a three-year missions partnership with South Asia, and elected a Boiling Springs pastor…
Wanda Allen dies in Georgia; wife of former SBC president
BIG CANOE, Ga. (ABP) — Wanda Ruth Massey Allen, 74, wife of former Southern Baptist Convention president Jimmy Allen, died at her home in Big Canoe, Ga., Nov. 13 after a long illness. Born in Duncan, Okla., she graduated from…
CBF’s Stan Parks accepts position with Texas Baptists’ mission network
LUBBOCK, Texas (ABP) — Stan Parks, a mission worker in Southeast Asia for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, was named associate at WorldconneX, a new missions agency created by the Baptist General Convention of Texas. Beginning in January, Parks will serve…