By Robert Dilday A closely-watched hearing last Tuesday in a federal court in Norfolk, Va., could ultimately overturn Virginia’s constitutional ban on gay marriage — an outcome which would impact adjacent states and give same-sex marriage its first foothold in…
Obama stresses religious freedom at prayer breakfast
By Bob Allen Promoting religious freedom abroad is a key objective of U.S. foreign policy, President Obama told a crowd of about 3,500 at the 62nd National Prayer Breakfast at the Washington Hilton Feb. 6. “There are times when we work…
Children’s minister charged with abuse
By Bob Allen An associate pastor at a Southern Baptist church in Muscle Shoals, Ala., is being held on a more than $1 million bond after reportedly telling police he sexually abused so many children that he could not remember…
Peeping preacher’s prison sentence stands
By Bob Allen A Mississippi judge on Wednesday refused to reduce a 10-year prison sentence he handed down to a former Southern Baptist traveling evangelist and popular youth speaker convicted of video voyeurism in 2012. “I think basically I got…
Ministers weigh options amidst major religious decline
By Jeff Brumley A new study which shows the decline of religion in America may be worse than imagined but didn’t impress or shock Craig Nash, the community pastor at University Baptist Church in Waco, Texas. For years now, Nash…
Pastor: Baptists must support Moral Mondays
By Jeff Brumley Baptists will continue to be right in the heart of North Carolina’s Moral Mondays protests, which will be revived with a march in Raleigh on Saturday, Feb. 8. One pastor said it’s the duty of Christians to…
New ERLC head narrows legislative agenda
By Bob Allen Russell Moore’s legislative agenda for the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission parallels those of his predecessor Richard Land but leaves out concerns embraced by Land, viewed as a leader in the Religious Right. Like Land,…
Trial underway in lawsuit over slain pastor
By Bob Allen Attorneys representing a widow whose pastor husband was slain in a botched drug sting and the former police officer who fired the fatal shot made opening statements in a civil trial in northern Georgia Feb. 3. The…
McAfee prof brings Baptist insights to Iranian talks
By Jeff Brumley A lot of things surprised McAfee School of Theology’s Robert Nash during an academic delegation to Tehran Jan. 21-23. Surprises included being served name-brand American soda, feeling safer there than some places in the United States, and…
Mediation of Missouri Baptist lawsuits fails
By Bob Allen Attempted mediation of a 12-year-old legal battle pitting the Missouri Baptist Convention against four breakaway agencies failed to produce an agreement, convention officials announced Jan. 31. Convention leaders met with representatives of the Missouri Baptist Foundation, The…
Prominent CBF pastor diagnosed with cancer
By Bob Allen Guy Sayles, pastor of First Baptist Church in Asheville, N.C., has been diagnosed with cancer, he told members of the high-profile Cooperative Baptist Fellowship-affiliated congregation Feb. 2. “Over the last week or so, following an array of…
Ethicist begins new column on faith, politics and culture
By ABPnews/Herald Staff A Baptist ethicist who has written widely on Christianity and culture will return to the ranks of columnists for ABPnews/Herald Feb. 4, in a collaboration designed to stimulate more interactive engagement between readers and opinion writers. David…