By Bob Allen The goal of ministry to gays and lesbians isn’t to make them heterosexual, three speakers said Oct. 28 at a Southern Baptist Convention-sponsored conference on the gospel and homosexuality. It’s to make them holy. Rosaria Champagne Butterfield,…
Houston withdraws controversial subpoenas of pastors’ sermons
By BNG staff Houston Mayor Annise Parker announced Oct. 29 the city will withdraw subpoenas of five pastors which lawyers had sought as evidence in a legal suit seeking repeal of the city’s non-discrimination ordinance, the Houston Chronicle reported today….
ABC authorizes emergency grant for Liberian Baptists
By BNG staff The American Baptist Churches USA has approved an emergency grant of $120,000 to provide food and medical supplies to Liberia, the West African nation hardest hit by the Ebola outbreak, the denomination announced Oct. 28. The grant,…
BWA reconfirms 2015 Africa congress
By Jeff Brumley The 21st Baptist World Congress will convene as planned in Durban, South Africa, next year despite disease and travel concerns in Africa, Neville Callam, general secretary of the Baptist World Alliance, said in a news release Oct. 27….
As churches grapple with mental illness, ministers open up
By Jeff Brumley Robin Williams’ suicide in August sparked a wave of articles on mental health issues, including many gauging society’s knowledge and sensitivity toward persons with mental illnesses. Christian writers and media outlets pondered whether the modern church is…
ERLC conference drawing diverse crowd
By Bob Allen While speakers at this week’s conference on “The Gospel, Homosexuality and the Future of Marriage” sponsored by the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission will likely present a united “message of both truth and grace” on…
Music minister charged with child exploitation
By Bob Allen A Southern Baptist music minister remains in custody after his Oct. 16 arrest by the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force in LaGrange, Ky. Howard Key Chambers, 62, minister of music at DeHaven Baptist Church in La Grange,…
MAGAZINE IMMIGRANT STORY
By Jeff Brumley Before ISIS and before Ebola, there was “the surge” – the seemingly unending wave of undocumented immigrants, most of them minors, rushing the southwestern U.S. border during the spring and summer of 2014. Images of overwhelmed government…
Baptist church strives to help Afghan Muslim find welcome, work
By Jeff Brumley A Baptist congregation in Oklahoma has taken in an Muslim man who fled Afghanistan to escape Taliban retribution for interpreting for American forces. The folks at NorthHaven Church in Norman say their acceptance of the 31-year-old interpreter…
French woman represents Baptists at Catholic synod
By Bob Allen A French woman who attended the recent Synod of Bishops on the Family as a fraternal delegate for the Baptist World Alliance says she found common ground between Baptists and Catholics in issues like care for the…
Former Baptist minister indicted for murder
By Bob Allen A former children’s minister at Southern Baptist churches has been indicted for the murder of his wife 15 months ago in Homewood, Ala., local media reported Oct. 23. The reports cited court documents showing that Richard Shahan,…
Second vote on Brewton-Parker accreditation due in December
By Bob Allen An appeals committee affirmed a decision by Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges in June to terminate the accreditation of Brewton-Parker College but determined new financial information supplied by the college warranted keeping the…