By Bob Allen A Southern Baptist megachurch is lending its membership roll of 37,000 to a petition drive seeking repeal of a non-discrimination ordinance in Plano, Texas. Petitions will be available this weekend at Prestonwood Baptist Church opposing changes by…
After recantation, LifeWay withdraws ‘The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven’
By Bob Allen LifeWay Christian Resources agreed to stop selling a book about a child’s purported visit to heaven during a near-death experience in 2004 after the now-teenager recanted the story in an open letter to a Southern Baptist blog….
Though reversed, approving Muslim calls to prayer at Duke not threatening, theologian says
By Jeff Brumley This story has been updated from an earlier one posted before Duke University announced its changed policy. Baptists, if no one else, should not have opposed Duke University’s decision this week to allow a Muslim student group to…
‘Holy irritant’ can move white, black Baptists beyond comfort zones, says preacher
By Bob Allen The current pastor of the spiritual home of Martin Luther King Jr. challenged a movement called the New Baptist Covenant to move beyond comfort zones of race and theology toward a “covenant community” characterized by “creative and…
In hard-hit Appalachia, women find new opportunities
By Chris Shoemaker Women in Appalachia without access to higher education or who live in poverty have found hope in a new beginning, thanks to the New Opportunity School for Women at Bluefield (Va.) College. Founded in 1987 at Berea…
Once among the healthiest of professions, clergy seeing spike in obesity
By Terry Goodrich More than a third of American clergy members are obese, with stress, longer hours, low pay and lack of self-care among the culprits, a Baylor University study has found. But the profession has some built-in prevention methods…
Clergy divided on Georgia religious liberty bill
By Bob Allen The top spokesman for the Southern Baptist Convention’s Georgia affiliate called on the state’s General Assembly to pass a new bill bolstering religious freedom at a Jan. 13 rally claiming Atlanta Fire Chief Kelvin Cochran was fired for…
Church will gift its property to become ‘ministry incubator’
By Jeff Brumley Challenged by financial and membership declines, some congregations choose merger and some become satellite campuses while others sell to developers or simply close the doors and turn off the lights. Hillcrest Baptist Church in Mobile, Ala., chose…
Veteran Baptist communicator Orville Scott dies
By Ken Camp Orville Lindsey Scott, whose service as a Baptist communicator spanned four decades, died Jan. 12 in Grand Saline, Texas, at age 80. Funeral arrangements are pending with Eubank Funeral Home in Canton, Texas. Scott was born July…
SBC leader sees ‘chasm’ between liberal, evangelical denominations
By Bob Allen A Southern Baptist Convention leader says that rather than representing two points on a spectrum of Christianity, evangelical Christianity and liberal Protestantism are different and competing religions. Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville,…
Family suggests memorial gifts for Carolyn Weatherford Crumpler
By Bob Allen The family of deceased Baptist leader Carolyn Weatherford Crumpler is asking that rather than paying their respects by sending flowers, friends honor her memory by supporting causes that were dear to her heart. Crumpler, 84, died Jan….
Editor says Atlanta mayor should repent or resign
By Bob Allen A Georgia Baptist newspaper editor says Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed should either repent or resign for firing a fire chief who wrote a religious book that offended the city’s LGBT community. Christian Index Editor Gerald Harris said…