By Bob Allen A nationwide search for a new leader of the District of Columbia Baptist Convention turned back home, tapping a 20-year employee as its next executive director, and capping an 18-month nationwide search with 60 applicants. Robert Cochran,…
Georgia Baptists divided over religious liberty bill
By Bob Allen A Baptist newspaper editor compared perceived discrimination against Christians in the 21st century to the 1960s struggle for civil rights in comments at a Georgia statehouse rally Jan. 28 quoted by local media. Gerald Harris, editor of…
American Baptists intervene on behalf of women in Myanmar
By Bob Allen American Baptist Women’s Ministries has issued a statement to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry urging action in response to the Jan. 19 rape and murder of two young Kachin Baptist women in Myanmar by soldiers in the Burmese…
Pastor reflects on ‘exorbitant amount’ of funerals he’s preached
By Jeff Brumley For many pastors, two to three funerals a month is either average to a little high. For Barry Howard, that’s a light month. Howard, senior minister at First Baptist Church in Pensacola, Fla., said he’s seen as…
Georgia Baptist clergy oppose ‘religious liberty’ bill
By Bob Allen Religious liberty isn’t a license to discriminate, a Georgia Baptist pastor said at a news conference Jan. 28 at the Georgia State Capitol convened by opponents to proposed legislation preventing “government overreach” in matters of religious expression….
SBC leader says Marcus Borg redefined Christianity
By Bob Allen The liberal, intellectual approach to Christianity pioneered by recently deceased Jesus scholar Marcus Borg isn’t the Christianity taught in the Bible, a Southern Baptist theologian and seminary president said Jan. 28. Borg, 72, a driving force in…
Pastors eager to find preaching’s place in modern church
By Jeff Brumley The subject of preaching is often lost in today’s urgent talk about church decline, closure and relevance. Most of the buzz centers around embracing technology, social media, worship styles or whether to stay in or sell the…
Baptists represented at ecumenical gathering on believers’ baptism
By Bob Allen Baptists remain convinced that baptizing believers upon their profession of faith is the pattern most clearly attested to in Scripture and a guide for those seeking to practice “New Testament Christianity,” according to a presentation at a…
Church under fire from S.C. Baptist group is only nominally aligned
By Bob Allen A suggestion by the president of the South Carolina Baptist Convention that the group’s largest church disassociate with Southern Baptists wouldn’t have much effect on the convention’s bottom line. NewSpring Church, one of the fastest growing churches…
Missionary couple brings international mission field to N.C.
By Jeff Brumley International mission work is taking on a whole different look — at least the way it’s being practiced by some Baptists in North Carolina. And yes, that means in North Carolina, not Uganda or Costa Rica or anywhere…
CBF forms ad hoc committee for implementation of global missions strategy
By Bob Allen The Governing Board of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship heard an initial report from an ad hoc group appointed in recent months to collaborate with a newly up-and-running Missions Council on how to retool the organization’s global missions…
BWA taps CBF as its liaison for religious liberty at the United Nations
By Bob Allen The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship has agreed to function as liaison for religious liberty on behalf of the Baptist World Alliance, CBF Executive Coordinator Suzii Paynter reported to the group’s Governing Board Jan. 22. Paynter said BWA leaders…