WASHINGTON (RNS) — Black clergy, led by the Progressive National Baptist Convention, have launched a new coalition to fight gun violence, saying they are undeterred by the recent failure of legislation on Capitol Hill and all too aware of the…
Volunteers sought for twister recovery
By Jeff Brumley Cooperative Baptist Fellowship officials in Oklahoma say they are prepared to handle visiting, short-term volunteer groups to help with tornado cleanup and recovery. Based at First Baptist Church in Norman, Oklahoma CBF Disaster Response has already hosted…
Baylor receives record gift
By Bob Allen An El Paso businessman has donated $35 million to Baylor University, reportedly the largest gift by a living alumnus in the history of the Baptist-affiliated school in Waco, Texas. The gift by Texas oilman Paul Foster will…
White House holds mental health confab
By Bob Allen President Obama asked the private sector and nonprofit organizations – including houses of worship and other faith-based institutions – to join the government in a national conversation about mental health in the United States during a daylong…
Thin silver band reminds teens to make healthy choices, say organizers of abstinence movement
SPARTA, Va. — Over 90 teenagers in the Caroline County, Va., area are wearing a thin silver band. Someday they hope it will be replaced by a wedding ring. In the meantime the silver band serves as a reminder of…
REFLECTIONS FROM NEW YORK: Imagining new places
Moving into new places presents a unique challenge to imagine and re-imagine our past lives in relation to the present locations in which we find ourselves. Walter Rauschenbusch, the late 19th-century and early 20th-century pastor, church historian and social gospel…
Christians can’t buy Starbucks: speaker
By Bob Allen A guest preacher told worshippers at a prominent Southern Baptist church in Alabama that Christians should not drink Starbucks coffee because the company supports gay marriage. “Starbucks is pouring all this money into destroying traditional marriage,” David…
‘Bootleg preacher’ Will Campbell dies
By Bob Allen Will Campbell, an author, activist and iconoclastic Baptist minister who described himself as a “bootleg preacher,” died June 3 from complications following a stroke suffered in 2011. He was 88. The Mississippi native was one of the…
Team from Virginia church to perform at Baptist global youth event
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — A team from Alfred Street Baptist Church in Alexandria, Va., will be among a variety of music, dance and dramatic performers during the 16th Baptist Youth World Conference, to be held July 17-21 in Singapore. Alfred Street…
Helping Christians understand Islam is goal of Beckett Center, says its founder
RICHMOND — There’s a rickshaw parked at the Virginia Baptist Resource Center, typical of those in South Asia. Don’t look for it out front in one of the reserved parking spots. It’s on display inside in the museum of the…
CBF of North Carolina to host second Fresh Expressions event
RALEIGH — Fresh Expressions has scheduled a Vision Day in Raleigh Aug. 16, the second to be hosted by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina. The event serves as an introduction to Fresh Expressions, a movement which aims to…
Mont. theology center has missional aim
By Jeff Brumley A Baptist-inspired project envisioned to inspire and retool pastors and congregations for the missional church environment is taking shape in Bozeman, Mont. The Yellowstone Theological Institute has secured $4.5 million in land and money pledges. While probably…