By Bob Allen Nearly all major religious groups have become significantly more accepting of homosexuality in recent years, even those, like evangelicals and Mormons, traditionally opposed to same-sex relationships, according to a new Pew study of religious belief and practice in…
Prayer could be performance enhancing. So should it be banned in sports?
By Jeff Brumley One standard the World Anti-Doping Agency uses to ban a substance is whether it enhances, or has the potential to enhance, athletic performance. Drugs aren’t alone in such scrutiny. The use of high-tech prosthetic limbs has caused…
SBC leader says racism alive and well
By Bob Allen Proclamations and public gatherings aside, racism is not gone from the Southern Baptist Convention, says the convention’s top spokesman for moral and public-policy concerns. “Racism is alive and well within the Southern Baptist Convention and within many…
Church replaces ‘Black Lives Matter’ sign
By Bob Allen After vandals stole its ‘Black Lives Matter’ sign, First Baptist Church of Jamaica Plain, Mass., now has two. While a crowd of about 100 gathered Nov. 1 for a reinstallation ceremony covered by the Boston Globe, an…
Church’s waning clout no surprise to ‘remnant’
By Bob Allen A Southern Baptist scholar says a recent Pew study indicating Americans as a whole are growing less religious but that those who still belong to a religion are as faithful as ever simply confirms a “remnant” theme…
School, outreach open a ‘whole new world’ to Roma children
By Blake Tommey Estera loves to read. In her fifth-grade class at the Ruth School, Estera’s favorite subject by far is the Romanian language, and she lives to devour children’s novels. But some of her most cherished stories are the…
Houston voters defeat equal rights ordinance
By Bob Allen Voters overwhelmingly rejected Houston’s Equal Rights Ordinance — or HERO — designed to protect the rights of gay citizens and opposed by religious conservatives who warned it would give male sexual predators access to women’s bathrooms. A Nov. 3…
Ky. governor-elect has friends in SBC
By Bob Allen Kentucky’s new Tea Party-backed governor has strong ties to Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. Matt Bevin, a political outsider who captured 52.5 percent of the Nov. 3 vote to 43.8 percent for Democratic Attorney General…
Steeples and Millennials — does church architecture matter?
By Jeff Brumley Chris Aho knows a thing or two about worshiping in contemporary spaces, like churches which meet in theaters, schools or former retail spaces. “There is a sense of young churches trying to take away all the symbolism…
Church denies negligence in abuse lawsuit
By Bob Allen A Southern Baptist church in Georgia denied allegations of negligence in a lawsuit alleging child sexual abuse by a former church volunteer later named as youth pastor. A civil lawsuit filed in Toombs County Superior Court alleges…
Prestonwood Baptist Church sells Dallas campus
By Bob Allen Four years after announcing bold plans to return to its Dallas roots, Prestonwood Baptist Church has quietly closed its Dallas campus, which is being sold to a non-denominational charismatic megachurch. Robert Morris, founding pastor of the 36,000-member…
Intrigued by its history, developer spares abandoned Dallas church from demolition
By Ken Camp A funny thing happened after real estate developer David Spence bought an abandoned Dallas church building, intending to demolish it and create a parking lot to serve nearby storefront property he was renovating. “I fell in love…