By Bob Allen Officials at Baptist-affiliated Louisiana College announced Dec. 8 the school is no longer on probation with its accrediting agency. The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges put the school on probation in June 2014…
Baptists join other Christians opposing Trump’s anti-Muslim rhetoric
By Jeff Brumley The voices from the right, condemning Islam and fearing Muslims, have gotten noticeably louder in recent days. On Monday, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump issued a call to ban all Muslims from entering the United States. On…
Interfaith leader cites religious liberty threat
By Bob Allen After championing religious freedom for most of his ministry career, former Interfaith Alliance head Welton Gaddy says he does not think the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution would pass if it were being proposed today. Accepting…
Duke study quantifies ‘stained-glass ceiling’
This story was updated Dec. 9 with additional information. By Bob Allen Despite well-publicized reports of women making inroads as pastors of large churches and leaders of religious organizations, the percentage of congregations led by a woman is about the…
Baptists among Christians rising up against Trump’s anti-Muslim rhetoric
By Jeff Brumley The voices from the right, condemning Islam and fearing Muslims, have gotten noticeably louder in recent days. On Monday, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump issued a call to ban all Muslims from entering the United States. On…
Barna: American reading habits shape churches, spiritual development
By Jeff Brumley Publishers and marketers are certainly aware that Americans, thanks to smart phones and tablets, are reading fewer and fewer paper books these days. But pastors and other church leaders need to track those trends as well, the…
Clergy urge welcome for Syrian refugees
By Bob Allen A Cooperative Baptist Fellowship pastor joined faith leaders from across metropolitan Louisville, Ky., in a press conference supporting the resettlement of Syrian refugees in Indiana and Kentucky. Joe Phelps, pastor of Highland Baptist Church in Louisville, Ky.,…
Pastor cites ‘feminist rebellion’ in moral decline
By Bob Allen A Southern Baptist pastor said in a televised sermon Dec. 6 that today’s controversy over transgender rights has its roots in “feminist rebellion” against the Bible’s teaching on hierarchy within marriage. “The mayor of Houston says that…
FBC Washington elects pastor
By Bob Allen Members of the First Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., voted Dec. 6 to call Julie Pennington-Russell as senior pastor. Pennington-Russell, long active in the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, is the 19th senior pastor in the church’s 213-year history and the…
In Chiapas, faith transforms lives in the ‘Rock Crusher’
By Russ Dilday Under a warm sun, Lluvia Citlalli Hernandez Aguilar, the sole Buckner social worker for the Chiapas state of Mexico, makes her way down the steep gravel and rock road that descends into the Tuxtla-Gutierrez neighborhood known as…
Jimmy Carter says he is cancer free
By Bob Allen Former President Jimmy Carter announced Dec. 6 that he is cancer-free, four months after revealing that cancer removed from his liver had spread to four spots on his brain. Carter, 91, a lifelong Baptist who identifies with…
CBF Virginia taps new leader
By Bob Allen The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Virginia unanimously elected a new field coordinator at a called General Assembly Dec. 5 at Central Baptist Church in North Chesterfield, Va. Terry Maples, who for the last five-and-a-half years has held…