By Bob Allen The South Carolina Baptist Convention has written a letter asking First Baptist Church of Greenville to either recant its recent decision to include gays in all areas of church life or withdraw from the 2,000-church state affiliate…
‘Preacher camp’ inspires sermons, ministries and lives of 6 pastors
By Jeff Brumley Every year, interest grows in a combined worship planning and support group that has forged an unbreakable bond between six Baptist pastors. Known as preacher camp, the annual, closed gathering got a lot of attention on Facebook…
Ted Cruz urges evangelicals to vote in 2016
By Bob Allen Southern Baptist presidential candidate Ted Cruz says evangelical pastors are Republicans’ best hope to win the White House in 2016. “Nothing is more important in the next 18 months than that the Body of Christ rise up…
Coalition opposes taxpayer-funded discrimination
By Bob Allen American Baptist Home Mission Societies and the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty are among 130 religious, education, civil rights, labor, LGBT, women’s and health organizations asking President Obama to review a Bush-era legal opinion allowing faith-based…
Jimmy Carter says his future ‘in the hands of God’
By Bob Allen Former President Jimmy Carter said he was “surprisingly at ease” after being diagnosed with cancer, which has spread to parts of his brain, in a news conference Aug. 20 at the Carter Center in Atlanta. Carter, 90,…
Advocates urge Nepal to avoid criminalizing religious conversion
By Ken Camp An international coalition spearheaded by the 21st Century Wilberforce Initiative, with significant Baptist involvement, has urged government officials in Nepal to remove from the nation’s proposed constitution language criminalizing “any act to convert another person from one…
Ministers, churches seek end to ‘mission tourism’
By Aaron Weaver Parachute missions. Poverty tourism. Vacationary. These descriptors are frequently invoked to characterize and critique a misguided (western) approach to missions — an approach that many say encourages an unhealthy dependency and paternalism. “Contrary to popular belief, most…
Anti-nuke activist chastises politicians for rhetoric about proposed Iran deal
By Bob Allen A leading evangelical voice for nuclear disarmament criticized politicians for comparing a widely debated nuclear deal between the U.S. and Iran to the Holocaust and saying it fulfills End Times prophecy in the Bible. In an interview with the Christian Post, Tyler…
Minister charged with murder appears in court
By Bob Allen A former Southern Baptist minister charged with murdering his wife appeared in court Aug. 19 in Birmingham, Ala. Attorneys representing Richard Shahan, former children and families pastor and facilities director at First Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala.,…
Global Women wins Best of Pelham Award
By Bob Allen An ecumenical woman-to-woman missions organization with Baptist ties dedicated to improving the lives of vulnerable women around the world has been honored as one of its local community’s best businesses. Global Women’s international partnerships in areas including…
Churches must be creative to meet coming ‘Boomer wave’
By Jeff Brumley Congregational coaches are warning churches against becoming so fixated on Millennials and other young people that they ignore the surging population of Baby Boomers already in their midst. But those experts say most congregations simply aren’t ready…
Former Union University student pleads guilty to murder
By Bob Allen A former Union University student pleaded guilty Aug. 6 to second-degree murder and tampering with evidence in the 2014 shooting death of his fiancée on the campus of the Baptist affiliated school in Jackson, Tenn. Charlie Pittman,…