CYNTHIANA, Ky. (ABP) — Lou Byrd knows she could be in the final months of her life and is at peace with that. “There are worse things than death,” said Byrd, a member of Cynthiana (Ky.) Baptist Church. The 73-year-old…
SBC agency says churches should affirm inerrancy
ALPHARETTA, GA. (ABP) — New guidelines for starting Southern Baptist churches ask members of new congregations to affirm biblical inerrancy and male-only deacons. The guidelines, adopted Oct. 6 by trustees of the North American Mission Board, do not apply to…
Supreme Court agrees to hear appeals in Ten Commandments cases
WASHINGTON (ABP) — The Supreme Court has agreed to wade into one of the day's most explosive church-state issues: Whether displays of the Ten Commandments on public buildings can ever be constitutional. In an announcement that took some court watchers…
Water recedes in North Carolina, but floods’ effects continue
CLYDE, N.C. (ABP) — A map on a wall at First Baptist Church said it all. Thin lines representing the Pigeon River were marked on either side with sprawling black areas — the parts of the town where a fierce…
Supreme Court will hear case on inmates’ religious freedom
WASHINGTON (ABP) — The Supreme Court will consider for the first time the constitutionality of a law intended to protect the religious freedom of prison inmates. The justices agreed Oct. 12 to hear arguments in Cutter vs. Wilkinson, which involves…
Giving beyond local congregations lower than 1968, study says
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (ABP) — Church members are giving less of their income to churches today than 35 years ago, and even less of those contributions are put to work outside the local congregation, according to a new study. Giving as…
President Carter’s pastor announces plans to retire from Plains church
PLAINS, Ga. (ABP) — After 22 years as pastor of a small Baptist congregation that includes former President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalynn, Dan Ariail plans to retire next year. The 135-member Maranatha Baptist Church in Plains, Ga., is…
Habitat leaders compromise on leadership transition
AMERICUS, Ga. (ABP) — Millard Fuller, who founded Habitat for Humanity International with his wife, Linda, in 1976, will relinquish the title of chief executive officer but continue as “founding president” of the worldwide housing ministry. Fuller has been in…
Louisiana judge overturns recent gay marriage ban
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Just three weeks after Louisiana voters overwhelmingly approved a provision banning gay marriage, a state judge has negated it, saying the amendment itself is written in a way that violates the state's constitution. Judge William Morvant of…