WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (ABP) — Larry Hovis will become coordinator for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina following action by the group's coordinating council Sept. 2. The position has been vacant since former coordinator Bob Patterson announced earlier this year…
UPDATE: Baptist children among dead in Russian massacre
BESLAN, Russia (ABP) — At least four — and as many as eight — children of Baptist leaders were killed when a hostage standoff in a Russian school ended violently Sept. 3, according to Baptist groups from the region. The…
Habitat founder’s retirement plans marred by conflict with board
AMERICUS, Ga. (ABP) — Millard Fuller, who founded the world-renown Christian housing ministry Habitat for Humanity International with his wife, Linda, in 1976, will end his service as president next year. But Fuller and Habitat directors have been in conflict…
Group asks IRS to investigate churches for hosting Democratic leaders’ speeches
WASHINGTON (ABP) — A religious-liberty group often accused of attacking conservative churches for political activity has criticized two progressive Baptist congregations for Democratic advocacy. Americans United for Separation of Church and state is asking the Internal Revenue Service to investigate…
Gay Republican group declines to endorse Bush
WASHINGTON (ABP) — The nation's largest group for Republicans supportive of gay rights has overwhelmingly declined to repeat something it did in 2000 — endorse President Bush's campaign. National directors of Log Cabin Republicans voted 22-2 on Sept. 7 to…
Historic hurricane slashes through Florida, damaging churches, delaying relief
COCOA BEACH, Fla. (ABP) — Hurricane Frances, historic in size if not strength, crossed all three coasts of Florida over Labor Day weekend, damaging buildings — including several churches — and leaving an estimated 5 million people without power. This…
Bush reiterates conservative policies to close convention marked by balance
NEW YORK (ABP) — President Bush, capping a Republican National Convention that sought to strike a careful balance on social issues between conservative policies and moderate speakers, briefly reiterated some of his most controversial social policies in his speech to…
Baptist children among hostages in Russian school crisis
BESLAN, Russia (ABP) — At least eight children of Baptist leaders were among hundreds of hostages held in a Russian middle school that erupted in gunfire and flames Sept. 3. The two-day standoff came to a climax when Russian commandos…
Asheville church sings, builds houses with Habitat for Humanity in Bolivia
SANTA CRUZ, Bolivia (ABP) — Six families in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, have new homes, thanks to volunteers from a North Carolina church. For Rosalía Rojas, 33, the two-bedroom house is a dream come true. “We had lost all hope of…