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….
Lotz says BWA ‘slandered’ by Southern Baptist leader
FALLS CHURCH, Va. (ABP) — The head of the Baptist World Alliance says the organization was “slandered” by a Southern Baptist Convention leader during a June 15 debate about the SBC's relationship with the BWA. “Baptists of the world, and…
Salaries for Baptist ministers outpace inflation, study says
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (ABP) — The average salary and housing for full-time Baptist pastors is $46,505, according to a national compensation study. That is a jump of 6.7 percent from a similar study conducted two years ago. The average total pay…
Virginia women learning lessons from unusual handbell choir
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., (ABP) — “We are learning life lessons on patience and diligence and the power of perseverance. A whole new universe of music and possibility has been opened up before us.” Elizabeth Haysom's learning experience is coming is an…
New scouting program for girls emphasizes Christian theology
CINCINNATI (ABP) — American Heritage Girls, a relatively new Christian scouting program, has seen enrollment increase dramatically after recent media attention portraying the Girl Scouts of the USA as less committed to the Christian tradition. American Heritage Girls was started…
Senate leadership schedules mid-July vote on Federal Marriage Amendment
WASHINGTON (ABP) — The Senate's Republican leadership has scheduled a mid-July vote on a proposed amendment to ban gay marriage nationwide, despite objections by Democratic lawmakers. A group of senators announced June 18 that Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.)…
Southern Baptists leave BWA, cheer Bush, confront social issues, vote to keep SBC name
INDIANAPOLIS (ABP) — Southern Baptists broke ties with their global brethren in the Baptist World Alliance, marshaled support for a familiar list of social issues, and voted to keep the Southern Baptist Convention name, despite suggestions it has become a…
Disabled seminary student’s plans for overseas missions put on hold
— EDITOR'S NOTE: This updates a story issued June 2. WACO, Texas, (ABP) — A Truett Theological Seminary student who envisioned serving as a missions volunteer in India this summer to aid other physically disabled people has seen her dream…
Welch wins contested SBC presidency, prescribes evangelism for SBC decline
INDIANAPOLIS (ABP) — Florida pastor Bobby Welch won the first contested Southern Baptist Convention presidential election in a decade June 15, then directed his characteristic zeal for evangelism toward reversing the SBC's numerical decline. Welch, pastor of First Baptist Church…