LOS ANGELES (ABP) — The blood of Jesus Christ. Christians sing hymns about it and debate its real or symbolic presence in the communion wine. But in Mel Gibson's controversial “The Passion of the Christ,” they will see it splattered…
SBC Executive Committee OKs plan to leave BWA, form global network
— Editor's note: This story updates one issued Feb. 17. A photo is available from Associated Baptist Press. NASHVILLE (ABP) — Southern Baptist Convention leaders intent on severing ties with the Baptist World Alliance took a major step in that…
Southern Baptists gearing up to get out the vote, promote values
NASHVILLE (ABP) — Southern Baptists should get involved in the political process, and the SBC will assist them by developing a campaign and promoting it through a new website called ivotevalues.com, Richard Land told the SBC Executive Committee Feb. 16….
New Orleans Seminary delays SBC effort to consolidate control
NASHVILLE (ABP) — New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary, the lone holdout in a lengthy SBC attempt to gain stronger control over its entities, is under increasing pressure to change its charter to make the SBC the “sole member” of its…
New York Baptist leader Quinn Pugh dead at 74
STATESBORO, Ga. (ABP) — R. Quinn Pugh Sr., who served as executive director of the Baptist Convention of New York for 12 years before retiring in 1996, died Feb. 13 following heart surgery at a Savannah, Ga., hospital. He was…
Defining identity, purpose helped congregation work through conflict
COPPELL, Texas (ABP) — Valley Ranch Baptist Church seemingly had all the ingredients for expansion in a growing suburb of Dallas. Young families drove church growth. The congregation owned its land and facilities. More people were coming. Excitement and energy…
SBC president Jack Graham calls for Southern Baptist name change
NASHVILLE (ABP) — As “a network of churches that circle the planet,” the Southern Baptist Convention must consider changing its name to “reflect who we are and what we are doing nationally and internationally,” SBC president Jack Graham told the…
Lawsuits try to block flurry of gay marriages in San Francisco
WASHINGTON (ABP) — As thousands of same-sex couples rushed to get married in San Francisco over the Valentine's Day weekend, opponents tried to block the marriages in court. Two San Francisco courts postponed action Feb. 17 on lawsuits seeking to…
SBC Executive Committee OKs plan to leave BWA, form new group
NASHVILLE (ABP) — The Southern Baptist Convention's Executive Committee voted overwhelmingly Feb. 17 to withdraw SBC membership and funding from the Baptist World Alliance, the 99-year-old fellowship of 211 Baptist bodies worldwide. Despite pleas from Baptist leaders worldwide and some…