By Bob Allen A leadership group in the American Baptist Churches USA adopted a statement March 13 celebrating the role of American Baptists in the civil rights movement and recognizing the 50th anniversary of the March 1965 five-day march from Selma, Ala., to…
Alabama Baptist church dis-fellowshipped over pastor’s gay friendly views
By Bob Allen An association of Southern Baptist churches in Alabama voted March 16 to dismiss a church over its pastor’s support of same-sex marriage. The executive board of Madison Baptist Association voted 74-5 to withdraw fellowship from Weatherly Heights…
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Many Americans find meaning in vampire, zombie tales, Baylor prof says
By Jeff Brumley It’s a good thing so many films, books and television shows are fixated on life after death, Baylor University scholar Greg Garrett said. Because we need them. “For many of us, if we don’t tell these stories…
Arkansas CBF celebrates turnaround of partner school
By Bob Allen The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Arkansas celebrated with a historically black Baptist college that recently dedicated a new building just months after emerging from cash-flow straits. Ray Higgins, coordinator of the statewide network of churches that support…
Pastor/elder dispute disrupts Tennessee church
By Bob Allen The pastor of a prominent Southern Baptist church in Tennessee for three decades resigned abruptly March 6 because of a leadership dispute with the congregation’s four-member elder board. Rick White, 63, pastor of The People’s Church in…
Baptist women say faith deepened as pregnant ministers
By Jeff Brumley The first time around as a pregnant Baptist minister, Stacy Cochran Nowell harbored worries few other moms-to-be are likely to share. Chief among them was that older church members might object to the sight of an expectant…
Historically Baptist college elects gay president
By Bob Allen While one Baptist college in Tennessee defended inviting a lesbian to speak on campus, another in Indiana with little fanfare recently elected a president who is openly gay. Franklin College, a small liberal-arts college in “voluntary association”…
Baptists, Presbyterians make room for Anglicans at Calvinist confab
By Bob Allen Calvinist-inclined Baptists and Presbyterians attending this year’s upcoming national conference of the Gospel Coalition are adding a place at the table for a new constituency: conservative Anglicans who have broken with the Episcopal Church. Joining mainstays like…
Churches join schools to tackle educational challenges
Kalie Lowrie Two years ago, Principal Marta Plata of Manuel Jara Elementary School in Fort Worth, Texas, recognized her school needed help. She realized her teachers could work tirelessly every year to educate students and empower them to be their…
Faith groups celebrate 25 years of the Americans with Disabilities Act
By Bob Allen An American Baptist leader says this summer’s 25th anniversary of President George H.W. Bush signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act provides an opportunity for churches to both celebrate and explore ways to be more accessible, hospitable…
Church shares racism with police forces, says minister and former cop in book
By Jeff Brumley Baptist minister Terrell Carter felt he could identify when a police officer fatally shot Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., last August. “I know what it’s like to be racially profiled,” said Carter, who is African-American. “But on…