DES MOINES, Iowa (ABP) — One of the nation's three largest insurers of congregations has backed away from covering lawsuits filed as a result of church splits and denominational disputes. Since July, GuideOne Insurance of West Des Moines, Iowa, has…
Pakistani workers strike, children burn flags in anti-cartoon violence
KARACHI, Pakistan (ABP) – Violence continues in Muslim countries worldwide as protests over the Danish cartoons of Muhammad increase in fervor. In Pakistan, more than 50,000 people chanted anti-American slogans and burned flags during a protest that came a day…
Pastors say worship makes difference in multiethnic congregations
MESQUITE, Texas (ABP) — When Anglos, Hispanics, African-Americans and Nigerians gather in the same place on Sunday morning, planning worship can be a challenge. “It's a lot more than just a question of hymns or choruses,” said Charlie Brown, pastor…
Virginia Baptist Foundation awards 12 grants to ministry partners
RICHMOND — The Virginia Baptist Foundation has awarded 12 grants totaling over $100,000 to 11 Virginia Baptist ministry partners, according to Ronald C. Hall, president and CEO of the Foundation. Hall announced the following recipients, which were awarded grants by…
Massachusetts court delivers gay-marriage setback
BOSTON (ABP) — The same court that created a national firestorm by legalizing gay marriage in 2003 delivered gay-rights activists a setback March 30 in a related case. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled 7-1 that an obscure 1913 law…
Surgery leads Mohler to bow out of SBC race
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (ABP) — Al Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, will bow out of the race to head the Southern Baptist Convention, according to a Feb. 14 statement. Mohler will undergo surgery for a pre-cancerous tumor in his…
Hollifield elected to director’s post in North Carolina Baptist convention
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (ABP) — Milton Hollifield became the 14th executive director-treasurer of the North Carolina Baptist State Convention during a special called convention April 11 — the first in the convention's history. An announced total of 1,066 messengers attended the…
Music collaboration to benefit African school
RICHMOND — American Youth Harp Ensemble and Richmond area choirs will join forces next month to present “Amani Peace Concert,” an African music collaboration benefiting the Grace Baptist Institute in Liberia. The performance takes place on Sunday, May 4, at…
Pizza magnate building ‘city of God’; Catholics flock while critics mock
NAPLES, Fla. (ABP) — Pizza tycoon Thomas Monaghan, despite rumors to the contrary, will not forbid X-rated movies or ban the sale of contraceptives in his new, faith-based town in Florida. And he will allow you to live there if…
CORRECTION
The chair of the Baptist General Association of Virginia's Christian life committee is David Roberts, not Bill Nieporte as reported in last week's Herald.
NAMB transfers role in Vancouver mission outreach to Canadians
VANCOUVER, B.C. (ABP) — American ministry strategies in a Canadian culture have proven to be an imperfect match, at least for the North American Mission Board's Strategic Focus Cities effort. But ministry leaders at NAMB and within the Canadian Convention…