By Bob Allen Louisiana College’s accrediting agency is keeping the private Christian school in Pineville, La., on probation, giving officials more time to address concerns about undue external influence by the Louisiana Baptist Convention. The accrediting commission for the Southern…
Baptist colleges lose Obamacare challenge
By Bob Allen A federal appeals court ruled June 22 that the religious exercise of two Texas Baptist colleges isn’t substantially burdened by a requirement they opt out of contraceptive coverage required under Obamacare. The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of…
Union University murder trial postponed
By Bob Allen The trial of a former Union University student charged with murdering his fiancée 16 months ago has been postponed a second time. Charles Pittman, a former Christian ministries major and member of the golf team at the Baptist-affiliate…
In grappling with autism, from surviving to thriving
We feel alienated. We’re scared to tell you about our son’s ASD. We don’t want you to treat our daughter any differently than other kids. Sometimes we don’t understand our child’s behavior any more than you do. We feel judged….
CBF participants want more than talk about racial reconciliation
By Marv Knox The time for merely praying about racial injustice is past, a roomful of participants at the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship general assembly agreed last week. They called for action. The mixed-race group participated in “Let Justice Roll Down:…
Mohler won’t remove slaveholder names from seminary buildings
By Bob Allen The president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s oldest seminary says he agrees with the denomination’s ethicist that it’s time to take down the Confederate flag, but he has no plans to remove the names of slaveholders from…
Former youth minister sentenced for sex crimes
By Bob Allen A judge in Cherokee County, Ala., has sentenced a former Southern Baptist youth minister to 10 years in prison for sex crimes, but it won’t add any time to the 15-year sentence he already received in another…
B.H. Carroll sees new administrative hub as key to decentralized, virtual future
By Jeff Brumley Texas-based B.H. Carroll Theological Institute has been steadily growing since its founding in 2004, with more staff, more students, more teaching churches and a global reach that expands every year. No wonder the organization made a big…
CBF pastor in Charleston says it’s time to get serious about guns, racism
By Bob Allen The pastor of the only Cooperative Baptist Fellowship church in Charleston, S.C., said Sunday morning that in light of last week’s deadly shooting at nearby Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church the time has come for churches to…
SBC’s Russell Moore: Take down the Confederate flag
By Bob Allen Southern Baptist Convention ethicist Russell Moore says for the sake of the gospel the time has arrived to take down the Confederate flag. Russell Moore, head of the SBC Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, said in a…
BJC speaker explains why many blacks cool to First Amendment
By Bob Allen Religious liberty doesn’t mean much to people who are physically enslaved, an African-American preacher reminded a predominantly white audience at an annual Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty banquet that this year coincided with the holiday celebrated…
Cooperative Baptists challenged to build bridge over ‘gaping wound of racism’
By Aaron Weaver and Carrie McGuffin “Salvation is about healing and wholeness. Now our broken world could use some of that,” said Jim Somerville, senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Richmond, Va., as he addressed the topic of salvation…