By Jeff Brumley When Baptist Jacqueline Allen of Chapel Hill began participating this month in the Moral Monday protests against the Republican-led North Carolina legislature, she got a loving-but-firm admonition from her daughter and son-in-law: don’t get arrested. “An 81-year-old…
CBF prays for former moderator
By Bob Allen The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship departed briefly from its official agenda in Friday morning’s business session to voice prayer for a former moderator facing surgery. CBF Moderator Keith Herron, senior pastor of Holmeswood Baptist Church in Kansas City,…
CBF lauds ‘chaplain’s pastor’ George Pickle
By Jeff Brumley George Pickle was sent off by Cooperative Baptist Fellowship chaplains and pastoral counselors Thursday with a stack of plaques, two hours of laughter and more important reminders that he will always be their friend and spiritual leader….
BWIM celebrates 30 years
By Bob Allen Baptist Women in Ministry celebrated its 30th anniversary June 26 in a packed auditorium at First Baptist Church in Greensboro, N.C., in conjunction with the June 26-28 Cooperative Baptist Fellowship General Assembly. “Tonight we have come here…
Hobby Lobby wins legal appeal
By Bob Allen The Southern Baptist owners of Hobby Lobby won’t have to pay millions of dollars in fines, thanks to a federal appeals court ruling June 27 allowing the Oklahoma-based retailer to proceed with its lawsuit challenging Obamacare. The…
American Baptists honor Congresswoman
By Bob Allen American Baptist Home Mission Societies affirmed Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-Calif.) as “a champion of peace” during a meeting of the organization’s board of directors last week in Overland Park, Kan. In January Lee, a member of Allen…
Church musician Don Hustad dies
By Bob Allen Don Hustad, 94, a leader in evangelical church music who taught for decades at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, died June 22. Hustad, once full-time organist for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, served on the faculty of Southern…
Paynter embraces ‘greater mission’ of CBF
By Bob Allen Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Executive Coordinator Suzii Paynter described a “vortex of change” during her first 121 days in office in her report to the final meeting of group’s 22-year-old Coordinating Council June 26. “It’s been a whirlwind,”…
‘Dawnings’ a way of living, being church
By Jeff Brumley Dawnings, CBF’s new missional process for congregations, is about discerning God’s will for churches and ministries, Bo Prosser, coordinator of missional congregations, said during a presentation about the system today in Greensboro, N.C. What it is not, he…
BWAid solicits aid funds for U.S.
By Bob Allen Baptists worldwide have been asked to donate funds to assist people recovering from a series of disasters in the United States. Baptist World Aid, the relief-and-development arm of the Baptist World Alliance, announced an appeal June 24…
Busy, historic General Assembly for CBF
By Jeff Brumley General Assembly 2013 is expected to be one of the busier – and more historic – gatherings in CBF’s history, as participants welcome a new leader and vote to significantly streamline the organization to meet current and…
Is yoga instruction religious? Court case may decide
SAN DIEGO (RNS) — In an elementary school classroom with an American flag draped over one wall, a couple dozen students rose to standing positions. Then they shifted into poses called “volcano part one,” “silent gorilla,” and “rag doll.” Some…