By Bob Allen A former Union University student accused of killing his fiancée on the Baptist-related school’s campus in February is scheduled to stand trial May 12-14, 2015, on charges of first-degree murder and tampering with evidence. Charles Pittman, 22,…
You’ve met the ‘nones.’ Now meet the ‘dones.’
By Jeff Brumley It figures. Just as churches, seminaries and congregational consultants were wrapping their heads around the concept of “the nones” in religious life, yet another term emerges for yet another category of Americans abandoning the church: “the dones.”…
Umbrella protests roil graduation at Hong Kong Baptist University
By Bob Allen The president of Hong Kong Baptist University drew criticism after refusing to hand diplomas to graduates on stage carrying yellow umbrellas, symbols of a student led civil-disobedience movement started in September called Occupy Central. The university allowed…
Tennessee megachurch pastor succumbs to cancer
By Bob Allen The pastor at the largest Southern Baptist church in Tennessee died Nov. 18 after a nearly two-year battle with cancer. Long Hollow Baptist Church in Hendersonville, Tenn., announced that David Landrith, pastor since 1997 and the third…
SBC leader speaks at Vatican conference on the family
By Bob Allen The Southern Baptist Convention’s top ethicist, speaking at a Vatican interfaith conference to support traditional marriage, said Christians cannot afford to capitulate to demands of the sexual revolution. “Many would tell us that contemporary people will not…
Ministry model appears to overcome barriers to reviving challenged communities
By Terry Goodrich A new model of ministry that empowers residents in an at-risk neighborhood of Dallas to transform their communities has resulted in crime reduction, better meeting of health needs, more jobs and improved student academic performance, according to…
Patient Zero of SBC controversy: B. H. Carroll defies theological labels, historians assert
By Ken Camp Neither Baptist progressives nor fundamentalists have the right to lay exclusive claim to the legacy of B.H. Carroll, two church historians told a fall colloquy sponsored by a theological institute that bears Carroll’s name. Baptists who view…
Georgia Baptists join ‘personhood’ campaign
By Bob Allen Georgia Baptists have joined an effort to switch the abortion debate from a woman’s right to choose to the “personhood” of the unborn fetus from the moment of conception. The Georgia Baptist Convention passed a resolution at…
Jewish leaders worry sermon could fuel anti-Semitism
By Bob Allen A former Southern Baptist Convention president is under fire for a recent sermon that Jewish leaders say could be used to fuel anti-Semitism. The Anti-Defamation League in Houston said Nov. 14 that Jewish leaders are “in a…
Merger, not just ministry, is how this church is engaging Hispanics
By Jeff Brumley Cliff Temple Baptist Church was responding to the needs of the Dallas neighborhoods around it long before the term “missional” came into vogue, and before Brent McDougal took the helm as senior pastor. But since McDougal’s arrival five…
Court upholds clergy housing allowance
By Bob Allen Clergy can keep their tax-free housing allowance for now, because a group challenging its constitutionality lacks legal standing to sue, a federal appeals court ruled Nov. 13. The Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the…
Alabama Baptist convention opposes Common Core education standards
By Bob Allen Alabama state leaders were urged to repeal Common Core standards promoted by the U.S. Department of Education in a resolution adopted at the Alabama Baptist State Convention annual meeting Nov. 11-12 in Birmingham. The resolution titled “On Parental…