By Ken Camp Seth Dorrell, 32-year-old director of Mission Waco’s global arm — Mission World — died of a heart attack June 16 while he was serving on a mission trip in Mexico with his family. Dorrell’s heart attack was…
Internet video scrubbing alleged
By Bob Allen A Christian blogger has reportedly filed an ethics complaint against a lawyer for claiming ownership of online video he says was obtained legally from the federal government. Jason Smathers, who began the Witnesses Unto Me blog in…
Moderates among Baptists ‘Loving West’
By Jeff Brumley If faith has led hundreds of volunteers from around the state to descend on West, Texas, for 13-year-old Emily Dodson it was that and something more personal. “I know people who lost friends, dads,” said Dodson, a…
SBC president ending Boy Scout ties
By Bob Allen Southern Baptist Convention President Fred Luter says his church will no longer sponsor a Boy Scout troop after a recent vote to accept Scouts who are openly gay. “I was a Boy Scout,” Luter, pastor of Franklin…
Baptists re-tool annual gatherings
This story was edited after posting to correctvan error. By Vicki Brown Registration for the 2013 Southern Baptist Convention in Houston closed June 12 with a total of 5,103 messengers, down from 7,874 last year in New Orleans and the…
UMC welcomes Scouts spurned by SBC
By Bob Allen Boy Scout troops that lose the sponsorship of Southern Baptist congregations over the organization’s lifting its ban on gay Scouts are welcome in the United Methodist Church. “Our troops are open to all persons, regardless,” Chuck Jones,…
Accused Mo. pastor faces new charges
By Bob Allen A Southern Baptist pastor in Missouri awaiting trial for alleged sex crimes now faces additional charges filed June 10. Local media report that the Moniteau County prosecutor filed new charges of statutory rape and statutory sodomy against…
Denominations: Dying or transforming into something new?
Do Baptist annual meetings matter if denominations themselves are dying? Some leaders believe denominationalism isn’t dying, but rather is undergoing metamorphosis. Those willing and flexible enough to change still will need the community and networking annual meetings offer. “Denominationalism is…
EDITORIAL: Movin’ on
As I write this, the Southern Baptist Convention is winding up its annual meeting in Houston and one of the voices raised was that of Fred Luter, convention president. Divisions among Southern Baptists must end, Luter said. As reported by…
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ANALYSIS: Some suggest unity at SBC meeting resulted from taking on cultural issues, not themselves
HOUSTON (ABP) — Southern Baptists experienced little antagonism during their annual convention in Houston last week — a phenomenon that surprised some and delighted most SBC officials and messengers. There were plenty of opportunities for controversy. Debates ensued — but…
SBC condemns Boy Scouts’ decision on gays but stops short of boycott
HOUSTON (ABP) — The Southern Baptist Convention stopped short of urging churches to sever ties with the Boy Scouts of America in a June 11 resolution condemning the organization’s recent decision to drop its ban on Scouts who are openly…