By Jeff Brumley The presidents of two North Carolina universities with Baptist affiliations have announced their impending retirements. Wingate University’s Jerry E. McGee announced in April he would retire in May 2015. He is Wingate’s 13th and longest serving president with…
Texas Baptists respond to wildfires in state’s Panhandle
By Ken Camp Texas Baptist Men disaster relief responded to varied needs after the Double Diamond wildfire burned about 2,600 acres in the state’s Panhandle and destroyed 225 homes around Fritch, Texas. At its high point, the fire forced more…
Experience on Broadway enriches Baptist couple’s calling to special needs advocacy
By Jeff Brumley For most performers, making it to Broadway would be considered the apex of a career, the end-all, be-all of performing on stage. But for Amy and Ben Wright, who are deacons at First Baptist Church in Wilmington, N.C.,…
American Baptist leader condemns death sentence for Sudanese woman
By Robert Dilday An American Baptist leader has spoken out against a death sentence imposed May 16 on a Sudanese woman who news reports say refused to recant her Christian faith in front of a court which considers her to…
UK Baptists leave gay marriage up to local church, while affirming traditional view
By Bob Allen The Baptist Union of Great Britain said in a recent statement that decisions related to a same-sex marriage law recently passed by Parliament are the purview of the local church, not the denomination. The statement, released following…
Alliance of Baptists supports NC gay marriage lawsuit
By Robert Dilday The Alliance of Baptists has expressed support for a legal challenge launched by religious leaders in North Carolina to overturn the state’s ban on gay marriage. At its annual meeting May 3 in Portland, Maine, the Alliance…
Critics question support of former ministry head accused of covering up abuse
By Bob Allen Thursday’s conviction of a former youth leader at a church in Maryland has renewed calls that evangelical leaders cease promoting a ministry colleague accused in a class-action lawsuit of conspiring to cover up sexual and physical abuse…
Despite ‘cease and desist’ order, Baylor Alumni Association publishes account of dispute
By Ken Camp Four months after Baylor University’s chief lawyer sent a letter insisting the Baylor Alumni Association “cease and desist” its use of Baylor’s licensed trademarks, the organization published an issue of the Baylor Line. The magazine includes a…
Faith leaders ask Obama to relax abortion restrictions in foreign aid
This story has been corrected to clarify the status of Larry Greenfield in the ninth paragraph. By Bob Allen Two Baptist ministers are among 33 faith leaders urging President Obama to clarify, if not repeal, the Helms Amendment, a 1973…
Ex-Muslim preacher loses copyright claim
By Bob Allen For the second time in a month, a Georgia Baptist college president has lost a legal battle to block the online posting of videos of him giving contradictory versions of a famous “Jihad to Jesus” testimony popular…
Jury returns guilty verdict in abuse case
By Bob Allen A Maryland jury has found 56-year-old Nathaniel Morales guilty of five counts of sex crimes he committed in the 1980s and early 1990s at a prominent Washington-area evangelical church. Leaders allegedly knew about abuse allegations but did…
Multisite movement inspires growth, debate
By Jeff Brumley It’s been a decade since the Virginia Baptist Mission Board embraced the then-budding multisite church concept, becoming one of the first state organizations of any denomination to throw their institutional and financial weight into the movement. So, was…