By Bob Allen An association of Southern Baptist churches in Kentucky recently removed two churches from its membership roll for non-conformity with the Baptist Faith and Message ban on female pastors. The 45-church Nelson Baptist Association, based in Bardstown, Ky.,…
Faith advocates weigh Paris agreement on climate change
By Brian Kaylor As diplomats from more than 190 nations spent nearly two weeks in Paris hammering out details of an international agreement to reduce climate change, faith leaders also traveled to the talks in hopes of offering a moral…
Chowan University mourns student’s death
By Bob Allen A Baptist-affiliated university in North Carolina recently mourned the loss of a student murdered at an off-campus party Dec. 5. Flags flew at half-staff at Chowan University in Murfreesboro, N.C., for a Dec. 9 memorial service for…
Alumni pair ask Carson-Newman to revoke Title IX waiver
By Bob Allen Two alumni of Carson-Newman University have written an open letter urging the Baptist-affiliated school to revoke its waiver from a federal law banning discrimination. Travis Cooper and Jared Champion, who graduated from the school located in Jefferson…
Mercer student tackles Mid-East travel, anti-Muslim attitudes with fervor
By Jeff Brumley When Macon native and Mercer University student Alayna Williams signed up for a cultural exchange trip to Qatar a few months ago, she and the rest of the family decided not to tell dad. “They didn’t tell…
Texas faith leaders support Planned Parenthood funding
By Bob Allen More than 50 Texas faith leaders called on Gov. Greg Abbott to reinstate Medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood in an open letter released Dec. 10. Abbott, a Republican elected after former Gov. Rick Perry decided not to…
Baylor community offers prayers for Muslim students
By Jeff Brumley Baylor University made clear to its roughly 150 Muslim students during finals week that, whatever rhetoric they hear around the nation, they are welcome and safe at the Baptist institution. More than 400 students, faculty, staff, plus…
Neighbors’ concern with noise prompts dispute over worship
By Bob Allen A Southern Baptist church in Louisiana investigated numerous times for noise complaints has filed a lawsuit claiming intimidation by police and violations of religious liberty under both state and federal law. The lawsuit filed Dec. 10 in…
Church remembers the violence inherent in Advent
By Brian Kaylor On the second Sunday of Advent, the lawn of Highland Baptist Church in Louisville, Ky., was covered with wooden crosses like one sees in a military cemetery. Each cross — about 75 of them — will represent…
Baptist schools seek waiver from LBGT discrimination ban
By Bob Allen The federal government has granted waivers to more than two dozen religious institutions of higher learning from Title IX, which protects LGBT students from discrimination. Carson-Newman University, affiliated with the Tennessee Baptist Convention, recently received exemption for…
State Supreme Court reverses convictions of peeping preacher
By Bob Allen The Mississippi Supreme Court has reversed 10 of the 13 counts of a traveling Southern Baptist evangelist convicted three years ago of video voyeurism. Sam Nuckolls, a former youth camp pastor for LifeWay Christian Resources, was sentenced…
Church adopts Kenyan woman’s cause to fight female mutilation
By George Henson Carolyne Gachibi left Kenya to escape a nightmare only to find a Texas church willing to make her dreams come true — and help other girls attain an education and avoid female genital mutilation. But she has paid…