COLUMBIA, S.C. (ABP) — The 1,230 registered messengers attending the 183rd annual meeting of the South Carolina Baptist Convention adopted a $32.15 million budget for 2004, approved a three-year missions partnership with South Asia, and elected a Boiling Springs pastor…
Massachusetts court legalizes gay marriage but stops short of issuing marriage licenses
[UPDATED] WASHINGTON (ABP) — The first shoe dropped in America's legal debate over gay-marriage when a closely divided Massachusetts court ruled Nov. 18 that a state agency could not deny same-sex couples the right to marry. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial…
Gay marriage won’t necessarily spread from Massachusetts, experts predict
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Will the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court's decision to legalize same-sex marriage cause the first collapse in a house of cards that will ultimately lead to gay marriage in all 50 states? Although many on both sides of…
Virginia Baptists withhold Averett money over gay dispute, elect pro-SBC president
RICHMOND, Va. (ABP) — Virginia Baptists have taken action that may end their 144-year-old tie to Averett University unless a conflict over homosexuality and biblical authority is resolved. Meeting Nov. 13-14 in Richmond, Va., messengers to the annual meeting of…
Alabama court votes unanimously to remove Roy Moore from office
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (ABP) — Halfway through his term, the “Ten Commandments judge” has been ousted as the head of Alabama's judicial system. The Alabama Court of the Judiciary voted unanimously Nov. 13 to remove Roy Moore from his office as…
Wanda Allen dies in Georgia; wife of former SBC president
BIG CANOE, Ga. (ABP) — Wanda Ruth Massey Allen, 74, wife of former Southern Baptist Convention president Jimmy Allen, died at her home in Big Canoe, Ga., Nov. 13 after a long illness. Born in Duncan, Okla., she graduated from…
CBF’s Stan Parks accepts position with Texas Baptists’ mission network
LUBBOCK, Texas (ABP) — Stan Parks, a mission worker in Southeast Asia for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, was named associate at WorldconneX, a new missions agency created by the Baptist General Convention of Texas. Beginning in January, Parks will serve…
Kentucky Baptist messengers elect layman as president
LEXINGTON, Ky. (ABP) — Federal judge Eugene Siler was elected president of the Kentucky Baptist Convention Nov. 11. He is only the fourth layman elected to that post in the past 50 years. Siler, who serves on the 6th U.S….
Tennessee Baptists turn back changes proposed by conservatives
JACKSON, Tenn. (ABP) – Several attempts to place more conservatives in leadership of the Tennessee Baptist Convention and its institutions failed during the convention's annual meeting Nov. 11-12. The convention's 1,905 messengers also adopted resolutions supporting the proposed Federal Marriage…