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…
BWA women’s director stepping down
By Bob Allen Patsy Davis, executive director of the Baptist World Alliance Women’s Department for 17 years, announced retirement plans days before an annual day of prayer she helped grow into a recognized ministry connecting Baptist women together around the…
For many, Bible no longer Good Book
By Bob Allen Nearly one in 10 Americans believe the Bible is a dangerous book, and 14 percent say following its teaching would be harmful for American society, according to a new survey on sacred texts and society by LifeWay…
Creativity, patience needed to minister overseas
By Ken Camp and Jeff Brumley A Korean-American Baptist minister who has traveled to North Korea more than two dozen times in the last 19 years, delivering tons of corn and wheat noodles to schools, orphanages and hospitals, was denied…
SC Baptists restore funding for university
By Bob Allen The South Carolina Baptist Convention has resumed funding for North Greenville University, after convention leaders said they were satisfied with the way the board of trustees handled a scandal involving the school’s former president. The state convention’s…
Camping ministry unveils capital campaign
By Bob Allen Passport, Inc., an ecumenical Christian camping ministry and longtime partner of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, has launched a $1.5 million capital campaign, bolstered by a $500,000 matching-funds challenge grant from the Eula Mae and John Baugh Foundation….
Apartments purchase propels church ‘from missional to incarnational,’ pastor says
By Jeff Brumley There’s a saying that if you want to hear God laugh, tell him your plans. The folks at Oakmont Baptist Church in Greenville, N.C., have experienced that principle firsthand. It all started when the Cooperative Baptist congregation…