By Jeff Brumley Some contemplative spiritual practices may be as old as Christianity itself, but they are increasingly attracting younger generations hungry for alternatives to contemporary, flashy worship. Case in point: portions of an international Taizé pilgrimage hosted by First…
Director of gender-roles council denies scrubbing article
By Bob Allen The head of an organization that advocates wifely submission in the church and home denies removing a web page containing an article being compared to Mormonism. Julie Ann Smith, who writes for a blog on spiritual abuse…
Glorieta case remains in federal court despite challenge
By Bob Allen A judge in New Mexico ruled March 20 that a federal court has jurisdiction over a lawsuit challenging last year’s sale of Glorieta Conference Center and lifted a stay so that the case can proceed. U.S. Magistrate…
Alban Institute, consultant for mainline congregations, shuttering after 40 years
By Bob Allen The Alban Institute is closing shop after 40 years as an independent consulting, educational and publishing firm catering to mainline Protestants, directors of the Herndon, Va.,-based nonprofit announced March 19. As of March 31, Alban Institute consultants…
Fred Phelps, dead at 84, leaves behind legacy of hate
By Bob Allen Fred Phelps, founding pastor of Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan., is dead at age 84, family members confirmed to local media. Phelps’ son, Timothy, told Topeka television station WIBW that his father died late Wednesday night….
Lay claim to ‘audacious freedom,’ divinity school students urged
By Ken Camp Baptist church historian Bill Leonard challenged students at Texas Christian University’s Brite Divinity School to carry out their calling by claiming, reclaiming, discovering or recovering “the audacious freedom we call gospel.” Jesus announced the coming of God’s…
CBF leaders remember Tom Cleary
By Bob Allen Cooperative Baptist Fellowship leaders shared fond memories of Tom Cleary, one of the first field personnel appointed by the Decatur, Ga.-based CBF, who died March 19 in Tampa, Fla., after emergency surgery for a ruptured aneurysm the…
Mission trip reflects growing shift as participants experience ‘transformation’
By Jeff Brumley It’s usually called a mission trip when a group of college students and their campus minister visit a ministry located in a struggling out-of-state neighborhood. But that’s not what a group of Clemson University undergrads and their…
Osteen illustrates nondenominationalizing of U.S. religion, says church historian
By Ken Camp Megachurch Pastor Joel Osteen and Lakewood Church in Houston offer a high-profile case study in the “nondenominationalizing” of 21st century evangelical American religion, says church historian Bill Leonard. Osteen manages to be “modern and postmodern, traditional and…
Pastor says male/female roles will continue in heaven
By Bob Allen Wives are to submit to their husbands not only on earth but also in heaven, according to an article posted online recently by the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. A 7,000-word article titled “Relationships and Roles…
Tom Cleary dies, was one of first missionaries appointed by CBF
By Bob Allen Tom Cleary, one of the first global missions field personnel appointed by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, died after suffering a ruptured aneurysm March 15, CBF Florida Coordinator Ray Johnson reported in an e-newsletter March 19. Cleary served…
Pastor accused of bilking elderly
By Bob Allen An American Baptist pastor in Connecticut has been charged with stealing more than $173,000 from an elderly parishioner. Robert Genevicz, pastor of Stratford Baptist Church the last 16 years, was arrested March 18 and charged with first-degree…