By Vicki Brown “Go Tell It on the Mountain” and other popular Christmas songs encourage Christians to share the gospel with joy, but theologians say that in a society increasingly unfamiliar with the Bible, clarity is key. “We need greater…
South African Baptists rebuke Westboro
This story was edited after posting to correct an error in the seventh paragraph. By Bob Allen Baptists in South Africa denounced Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan., for comments reported around the world claiming the country’s recently deceased former…
Abuse trial delayed for accused pastor
By Bob Allen The trial of a Missouri Baptist pastor charged with sexual child abuse scheduled earlier this month has been postponed. Moniteau County Circuit Judge Kenneth Hayden granted a continuance Dec. 2 in the case against Travis Smith, pastor…
Lilly grants address ministers’ finances
By Bob Allen Seminaries tied to the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and Southern Baptist Convention were among 51 theology schools across the United States awarded more than $12.3 million by the Lilly Endowment in the second round of its initiative to…
Papers filed in Glorieta lawsuit
By Bob Allen An Arkansas couple suing Southern Baptist Convention officials in federal court claim that secular courts have jurisdiction over the internal workings of a church when it involves property disputes or misuse of its articles of incorporation. In…
William Hull, scholar, author, dies at 83
By Bob Allen William Hull, a renowned Baptist preacher, author and provost at both Samford University and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, died Dec. 10 after a battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Hull, 83, taught New Testament 17 years at Southern…
Clergy hopeful about ‘Daniel Plan’
By Jeff Brumley Ministers who specialize in health and spiritual formation are hopeful Rick Warren’s new food-and-faith program may boost ongoing efforts to link body and soul in the minds of Baptists and other Christians. The Daniel Plan: 40 Days to…
Clergy reissue call for background checks
By Bob Allen With the one-year anniversary of the deadly mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., looming Dec. 14, 53 national faith leaders asked Congress to support bipartisan legislation that extends background checks to private gun…
Satanists want equal time in Oklahoma
By Bob Allen Controversy over a Ten Commandments monument on grounds of the Oklahoma State Capitol took a surprising twist when Satanists sought to place a statue of their own alongside it. According to media reports, the New York-based Satanic…
Baptist hospital exits church consulting
By Bob Allen The Center for Congregational Health, a joint venture between Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center and the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina founded in 1992 to provide assistance for struggling churches, will be renamed and restructured to…
Church rehabs home for ministry outreach
By Jeff Brumley Gary Montgomery recalled the first time, a couple years ago or so, he laid eyes on the foreclosed, rundown house a bank had donated to his Tallahassee-based prison, ex-offender and family ministry. “The bathtub fell into the…