By Ken Camp Missionaries from Venezuela learned how to drill water wells and maintain a simple drilling rig recently, thanks to a water ministry operated by Baptists in Texas. At the Everything Jesus Ranch near Seguin, Texas, volunteers with Texas…
Devotional website heading ‘Back2School’
By Bob Allen Students making the transition into a new grade, new school or even a new town can find spiritual guidance beginning Aug. 3 when Back2School returns to the devotional website d365.org. Writers for the six-week series are ministers from the Presbyterian…
SBC president declines to second-guess Glorieta sale
By Bob Allen Southern Baptist Convention President Ronnie Floyd has turned down an Arkansas couple’s request that he appoint a special committee to investigate whether LifeWay Christian Resources trustees acted improperly in the 2013 sale of Glorieta Conference Center for…
Fewer people moving doesn’t mean more will come to church, ministers say
By Jeff Brumley New research suggests Americans are increasingly choosing to put down roots where they currently live, a finding that raises questions about church health. The recent Barna Group project said mobility has declined overall over many years. Most…
Confederate flags left at MLK’s home church
By Bob Allen The pastor of Atlanta’s historic Ebenezer Baptist Church called Thursday’s placement of four Confederate flags on the campus of the home church of Martin Luther King an act of hate and terrorism. “It is the kind of…
St. Louis mention in Planned Parenthood video riles Missouri abortion foes
By Bob Allen Southern Baptists in Missouri renewed calls for annual inspections at the state’s only abortion clinic after a controversial video exposé of Planned Parenthood mentioned St. Louis as a possible location to obtain fetal tissue. Susan Klein, legislative…
Pastor calls Planned Parenthood exposé ‘journalistic distortion’
By Bob Allen The pastor of a historic New York City church with Baptist ties says much of the recent brouhaha over abortion rights has to do with the fact that Planned Parenthood caters exclusively to women. “I think it’s…
SBC ethics head supports ‘First Amendment Defense Act’
By Bob Allen The Southern Baptist Convention’s top spokesman for moral and religious liberty concerns led 30 faith leaders and educators in an open letter urging Congress to pass a Republican-backed bill that would bar the government from penalizing individuals…
Baptists reflect on fellowship as ‘nones’ seek their own brand of community
By Jeff Brumley They may be leaving or avoiding organized religion in droves, but the nation’s “nones” are still craving community — otherwise known as fellowship — recent reports suggest. Known also as the religiously unaffiliated, this growing segment of the U.S….
Pinewood derby races connect children, faith in Slovakia
By Vicki Brown Students yelled as they jockeyed for positions around the racetrack and rooted for their cars as they shot down the track. Cheers followed each heat as winners beamed and losers tried to be gracious. And the pinewood…
ABHMS sponsors service to celebrate ADA
By Bob Allen American Baptist Home Mission Societies was among sponsors of an interfaith worship service in Washington celebrating 25 years of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Curtis Ramsey-Lucas, managing director of resource development for the American Baptist Churches USA…
Former preacher deemed fit to stand trial for triple murder
By Bob Allen A former Baptist preacher charged with three counts of murder in a 2013 shooting at a pawn shop in Danville, Ky., has been found competent to stand trial. The Lexington Herald-Leader reported July 27 that Kenneth Allen…