By Jeff Brumley and Terry Goodrich Young people are less likely to try alcohol and drugs if they attend religious services regularly and self-identify as religious, a new Baylor University study has found. The study suggests that youth who feel…
SBC leader says Honeycutt’s ‘holy war’ sermon was destined to fail
By Bob Allen A current Southern Baptist Convention leader says looking back 30 years after Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President Roy Honeycutt’s famous “Holy War Sermon,” the moderate Baptist leader’s call to arms seems destined to fail. Among other things,…
Judge says Ten Commandments monument near Oklahoma capitol can stay
By Bob Allen A Baptist minister suing for removal of a Ten Commandments monument at the Oklahoma state capitol won’t get his day in court, a district judge said Sept. 19. Bruce Prescott, former executive director of Mainstream Oklahoma Baptists…
New mission center in Dallas taps Bill O’Brien as first executive
By Mark Wingfield Baptist missiologist Bill O’Brien has been named the first executive director of Gaston Christian Center, a new mission and ministry center in north Dallas which aims to create a collective of faith-based agencies and churches to serve…
CBF of Virginia has bright future, officers say
By Robert Dilday A bright financial picture and new facilities for its staff contributed to an upbeat General Assembly for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Virginia Sept. 19. “We are in the best financial situation this organization has been in…
Kentucky Baptist ‘lostness’ tour hits Louisville
By Bob Allen Strip clubs, run-down neighborhoods and a Sikh temple were among landmarks on a recent “lostness” bus tour of Louisville, Ky., sponsored by Kentucky Baptists. EngageKY, a Kentucky Baptist Convention program to build awareness about needs for church…
Baptist-affiliated Buckner to pursue deal with Methodist retirement community
By Ken Camp Buckner Retirement Services announced its intention to seek to affiliate with or acquire Sears Methodist Retirement System. If joined, the combined entities would become the largest not-for-profit senior-living provider in Texas and among the top 20 in…
Church treasurer charged with theft
By Bob Allen A Georgia woman is under arrest after allegedly stealing more than $93,000 from a Southern Baptist church where she worked. Gwendolyn Hawthorne, 61, of Marietta, Ga., was arrested Sept. 18 on a warrant alleging that she took…
Charles Watson is on a mission: to ensure religious freedom for the next generation
Interviewed by Robert Dilday What led to your focus on religious liberty issues? c POSITION: Education and Outreach Specialist, Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty AGE: 33 EDUCATION: B.S, The Citadel; M.Div., Mercer University’s McAfee School of Theology CURRENT CITY:…
At 88, Baptist educator Bruce Heilman is still taking on life
With Marines still battling the Japanese for control of other parts of Iwo Jima in early 1945, a two-engine Navy transport plane, loaded with people and equipment, begins its takeoff roll along the single airstrip on the volcanic Pacific island….
Pastor/farmer to take Baptists’ First Amendment commitments to Va. legislature
By Robert Dilday A pastor and cattle farmer in rural Southside Virginia has been tapped to advocate in the state’s legislature for First Amendment issues on behalf of the Baptist General Association of Virginia’s religious liberty committee — the first…
Florida Baptists debate alcohol use
By Bob Allen Describing moderate drinking as a non-issue became an issue for a Southern Baptist pastor in Florida — and for the Baptist state newspaper editor who got more than he bargained for by publishing a story he hoped would…