By Ken Camp Baylor University President Ken Starr, Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Community Church in Southern California and Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, joined a call for a national strategy to…
Adopting schools is about community building, not proselytizing, educators say
By Vicki Brown The pastor of the Baptist church in the small rural community saunters down the hallway in a public school toward the cafeteria, greeting students by name as he goes. Once through the lunch line, he nabs a…
Disputed cross memorial sold to private group
By Bob Allen One of the nation’s longest-running conflicts between church and state may end in a win-win resolution with the sale of a 43-foot cross located on public land to a private association. The U.S. Department of Defense sold…
For these Baptists, VBS transforms congregations and communities
By Jeff Brumley and Olivia Williams Two Waco, Texas, Baptist congregations learned firsthand this summer that vacation Bible school can be a catalyst for bringing down cultural and racial barriers in a community. That lesson puts them in the company of…
Feds offer reward in black church fire
By Bob Allen The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has announced a reward up to $2,500 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons who set a predominantly Africa-American church in Charlotte, N.C.,…
Faith propels Carnahan to ‘repair the world’ after governor husband, son lost in crash
By Vicki Brown Missourians know Jean Carnahan for her contributions in the past — as First Lady of Missouri when the late Mel Carnahan served as governor and as the first woman to represent the state in the U.S. Senate….
Newspaper op-ed decries bashing of Confederate flag
By Bob Allen A guest column in a Baptist state newspaper takes exception to Southern Baptist leaders reacting to the recent church shooting in Charleston, S.C., with calls to take down the Confederate flag. Edward DeVries, pastor of Village of…
Memorial service for ‘Baptist folk hero’ portrays passionate life
By Robert Dilday Laughter, not tears, prevailed at a memorial service July 18 for fiery religious liberty advocate James Dunn, who died two weeks ago at 83. A packed sanctuary at Knollwood Baptist Church in Winston-Salem, N.C. — the congregation…
Interim pastoring has evolved into skilled calling, Baptists say
By Jeff Brumley The modern interim pastor is radically different from his or her predecessors, ministers and congregational coaches say. It’s increasingly rare for an interim to be a mere placeholder between full-time pastors in a church. And relatively few…
‘First Amendment Defense Act’ gets Baptist support
By Bob Allen Southern Baptist leaders in two states urged support for a federal law aimed at protecting Americans who oppose same-sex marriage on religious grounds. Critics, however, say that would allow employers to fire women for getting pregnant out…
Moore hopes Planned Parenthood controversy will galvanize pro-life evangelicals
By Bob Allen The Southern Baptist Convention’s top public policy official says he hopes a controversial viral video claiming to show Planned Parenthood is selling fetal organs for profit will move evangelicals from right thinking to action on the sanctity…
Baptist churches learn that serving schools yields big rewards
By Vicki Brown and Jeff Brumley Serving Clark Elementary School helps the roughly 40 members of Woodlawn Avenue Baptist Church in Wichita, Kan., realize they have a purpose, a contribution to make to their community. For members at First Baptist…