By Jeff Brumley Nine dead, 18 injured, 170 arrested — and a sullied reputation for motorcyclists everywhere. At least that’s how some have interpreted the May 17 shootout between motorcycle gangs in Waco, Texas. But Baptists who love riding say they…
Southern Baptist leader endorses secularist campaign
By Bob Allen A Southern Baptist seminary president has added his blessing to a campaign advocating for atheists. Danny Akin, president of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, N.C., affirmed Openly Secular, a campaign fighting discrimination against people based…
Man confesses to child porn; church disciplines his wife
By Bob Allen A Dallas megachurch has apologized to a wife subjected to church discipline for leaving her husband without permission after learning he is a pedophile. Elders of The Village Church, a multisite Southern Baptist congregation led by Acts…
Army of aid mobilizes as storms, flooding pound Texas, Oklahoma
By Jeff Brumley Folks in the Southwest have just about had it with the weather during the past month. Oklahoma and Texas in particular seemed to have been singled out for meteorological abuse in the form of tornados, hail storms…
Citing prayer and a ‘persuasive board chair,’ Olive says he’ll remain at Bluefield
By Chris Shoemaker Just two days after announcing his plans to step down as president of Bluefield College, David Olive has rescinded his resignation and decided to continue to lead the Baptist school. Olive attributed his change of heart to…
SBC leader rebukes Obama for remarks at poverty summit
By Bob Allen A top Southern Baptist Convention official says President Obama owes evangelical Christians an apology for suggesting at a recent anti-poverty summit that they care for the unborn more than the poor. Frank Page, president of the SBC…
Baptist News Global to honor Texas editor for lifetime achievement
By Bob Allen Baptist Standard Editor Marv Knox has been named fourth recipient of the Greg Warner Lifetime Achievement Award in Religious Journalism by directors of Baptist News Global, a journalistic organization formed last year in a merger of Virginia’s…
Cyclists churn out hundreds of miles to eradicate hunger
By Kaylie Lowrie Braving hard rains, 29 cyclists joined a 500-mile bicycle ride from the Texas town of Boerne to Dallas to raise money for the Texas Baptist Hunger Offering and awareness about hunger and poverty around the state and world. The…
Sunday hunting proposal divides churches, gun lobby in North Carolina
By Bob Allen An NRA-backed bill to end North Carolina’s ban on Sunday hunting has triggered a debate between God and guns. The Christian Action League of North Carolina, a public-policy organization representing 17 conservative denominations including the Baptist State…
Bluefield College president resigns to take position at S.C. university
By Robert Dilday David Olive will resign July 31 as president of Baptist-affiliated Bluefield College in Virginia to become executive vice president of Charleston Southern University, a Baptist institution in South Carolina. Olive, who has led the college in Bluefield,…
Ohio bull-riding leads to 300 baptisms — and prompts questions about church as entertainment
By Jeff Brumley Pastor Lawrence Bishop II generated about 300 baptisms and an internet sensation last week by riding — and getting bucked off — a large bull inside his jam-packed Solid Rock Church in Monroe, Ohio, last week. The stunt by…
Doug Dortch nominated as CBF moderator-elect
By Bob Allen Veteran pastor Doug Dortch has been selected to be in line as 26th moderator of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. Dortch, senior minister of Mountain Brook Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala., will be nominated as moderator-elect of the…