WASHINGTON (ABP) — An apparently coordinated series of bomb attacks Jan. 29 targeted Iraq's Christian minority, killing three and injuring more. Bombs exploded within minutes of each other during Sunday services at two churches in the northern city of Kirkuk….
Conservatives expel Texas church for ties to gay-friendly ministry
BAYTOWN, Texas (ABP) — A conservative church in Baytown, Texas, has been kicked out of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention because it lets a ministry to homosexuals use church meeting space. Although the Eklektos ministry affirms homosexuality, the church…
Former Brewton-Parker president Starr Miller, 84, dies in Georgia
NEWNAN, Ga. (ABP) — W. Starr Miller, president emeritus of Brewton-Parker College, a Georgia Baptist school in Mt. Vernon, Ga., died Jan. 26. Miller, 84, had lived in Newnan, Ga., in retirement. Miller served as Brewton-Parker's president from 1979 to…
No News about Virginia Baptists and their ministries for January 26, 2006
North Carolina committee nominates consensus candidate for executive
ASHEBORO, N.C. (ABP) — Leaders of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina have nominated a candidate with support from both moderates and conservatives to the fractious statewide body's executive post. The convention's board of directors voted, without opposition, Jan….
Virginia legislators move closer to anti-gay-marriage amendment
RICHMOND, Va. (ABP) — Virginia legislators have moved their state one step closer to adopting a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. The Virginia Senate voted 28-11 Jan. 24 to follow Virginia's lower legislative chamber, the House of Delegates, in approving…
Mercer president-elect decries ‘spiritual masters’ who limit freedom
MACON, Ga. (ABP) — Baptists need no “spiritual masters” — either from the right or the left — to tell them what to believe in their churches or universities, said Bill Underwood, incoming president of Mercer University. Any attempt to…
Segregation undermines churches’ ability to reach society with gospel
WACO, Texas (ABP) — Christians undermine their ability to reach society with the gospel because they segregate their churches by race, sociologist/author George Yancey told participants in a workshop aimed at racial reconciliation. Yancey, assistant professor of sociology at the…
Multiracial congregations exhibit seven characteristics, says Yancey
WACO, Texas (ABP) — Seven principles characterize successful multiracial congregations, according to studies conducted by sociologist and author George Yancey. Yancey, who has written a book titled One Body, One Spirit: Seven Principles of Successful Multiracial Churches, described those principles…