BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (ABP) — In facing down Roy Moore and winning, Richard Cohen admitted, he and other supporters of church-state separation won a legal battle but may have lost the public-relations war. “The real battle here wasn't in the court…
Group sues White House, agency officials over Bush’s ‘faith-based initiative’ plan
WASHINGTON (ABP) — A Wisconsin group that opposes government endorsement of religion has launched the broadest legal attack to date on President Bush's plan to fund social services through religious charities. The Madison-based Freedom From Religion Foundation filed an eight-page…
Congregational identity rests in community, professor says
BIRMINGHAM, Ala (ABP) — “Lord, help us to become more of what you have already made us to be.” Several hundred church leaders from around the United States gathered June 24 to explore what this prayer means for congregations in…
Patterson stands by statements that BWA leader labeled ‘slander’
WASHINGTON (ABP) — A Southern Baptist Convention leader reacted June 22 to charges that he slandered the Baptist World Alliance in a speech by affirming his complaints against the worldwide Baptist body — and issuing more. Paige Patterson, president of…
CBF embraces Baptist World Alliance; Lotz urges Baptists to ‘break down walls’
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (ABP) — One week after Southern Baptist Convention messengers voted to cut ties to the Baptist World Alliance, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship participants welcomed BWA with open arms. During CBF's opening plenary session at its June 24-26 general assembly…
CBF joins new ecumenical organization, adopts budget
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (ABP) — The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship voted to help start a national ecumenical organization, approved a $16 million budget, and elected new leaders June 25 during its annual general assembly in Birmingham, Ala. During the business portion of…
Jews, moderate Baptists meet to foster relationships, learn
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (ABP) — Members of both Jewish and Baptist communities joined together Friday at a luncheon during the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship general assembly to share stories and encourage an interfaith relationship. And the effort, according to Jewish and Baptist…
Vestal defines essential principles that bind CBFers together
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (ABP) — “Fellowship” is a defining principle for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, CBF Coordinator Daniel Vestal declared at the organization's general assembly June 25. Although CBF participants are separated by geography and involved in autonomous churches, they're organized…
Getting around ‘clash of civilizations’ aids missionaries sent to Middle East
BIRMINGHAM, Ala., (ABP) — “Is Christianity dying in the land of its birth?” This was the question posed by Jim Jennings at his seminar, “The Vanishing Church in the Middle East,” at the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship's annual meeting June 25….