By Bob Allen An African-American Baptist leader says young people rioting in Baltimore are sacrificing the moral high ground of nonviolent protest advocated by Martin Luther King. “Anger over the yet unexplained death of Freddie Gray is one thing, but…
Baptists join growing army of relief headed to Nepal
By Jeff Brumley Governments, the United Nations and an army of international aid agencies are pouring relief supplies and workers into Nepal. And faith-based groups, including many Baptist organizations, are going in right along with them. Baptist groups across the…
Baptist disaster responder, through Facebook, reports on Nepal efforts
By Jeff Brumley Eddy Ruble used his Facebook status to share a long-time dream with friends Tuesday. “I’ve always dreamed of visiting Nepal, but not under the circumstances to which I am to arrive to today,” he wrote. The circumstances…
Texas Baptists take sides in school choice, pastor protection legislation
By Bob Allen A Texas Baptist official bemoaned a school voucher vote in the state Senate and supported a House measure to protect clergy from being forced to officiate over same-sex marriages in recent debate at the Texas State Capitol…
Baptists lead movements to ease ex-offender return to society
By Jeff Brumley and Ken Camp There’s a growing push, here and there around the country, to stop treating ex-cons like criminals after they have served their time. The restorative justice movement is nothing new but is taking on fresh…
Baylor renames School of Social Work for Dean Diana Garland
By Bob Allen Baylor University’s board of regents has voted to rename the university’s School of Social Work in honor of the school’s first dean, Diana Garland, who is stepping down June 1 due to illness. The Diana R. Garland…
SBC Pastors Conference disinvites Ben Carson
By Bob Allen An invitation to likely Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson to speak at this summer’s Southern Baptist Convention Pastors Conference has been withdrawn after it was criticized in Baptist blogs. Pastors Conference President Willy Rice said in a…
Union University murder trial postponed
By Bob Allen The trial of a former Union University student accused of murdering his fiancee has been postponed from May 12 until Sept. 28 due to a backlog in the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation crime lab. Charles Pittman, charged…
Aiming to deepen rite’s meaning, Baptist pastor in Ohio baptizes infant
By Jeff Brumley There are plenty of Catholic, Episcopal, Lutheran and Methodist churches in Dayton, Ohio, where parents could have an infant child baptized. But one local couple wanted Rodney Kennedy to baptize their 7-month-old son, even though they knew…
Uzbek Baptist jailed for handing out Christian leaflet
By Bob Allen A Baptist in Uzbekistan was jailed 15 days in March and fined three years’ worth of the national minimum wage for giving a Christian leaflet to a passer-by he met while traveling by bicycle, according to a…
SBC Pastors Conference criticized for inviting non-Baptist presidential hopeful to speak
By Bob Allen A two-day preaching conference held each year prior to the Southern Baptist Convention once criticized as too narrow is now being scrutinized for inviting speakers who are non-Baptists. Recent Baptist blogs have questioned an invitation to this…
Project seeks to get churches talking about issues of sex and racism
By Bob Allen A progressive Baptist organization committed to social and economic justice has launched a program to help churches begin conversations about LGBT inclusion and racial justice. Last fall the Alliance of Baptists received a $104,400 Arcus Foundation grant…