By Bob Allen California Baptist University lost a bid to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a transgender former student expelled after revealing on MTV’s “True Life” that she is biologically male. Domaine Javier, 26, filed a lawsuit Feb. 25 accusing…
Prominent conservative N.C. pastor and convention president considering run for U.S. Senate
CHARLOTTE — Mark Harris, pastor of a prominent conservative Baptist church in Charlotte and president of the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina, is considering a bid for the U.S. Senate, the Charlotte Observer reported May 6. Mark Harris Harris,…
Military asked to clarify proselytizing ban
By Bob Allen Two Southern Baptist Convention leaders issued a statement May 6 asking the military to clarify what it means by making “proselytizing” a punishable offense. Kevin Ezell, head of the SBC North American Mission Board, which oversees chaplains,…
Judge green-lights lawsuit settlement
By Bob Allen A federal judge ruled May 2 that a Baptist child-care agency at the center of a long-running legal dispute between Kentucky lawmakers and citizens represented by the ACLU and Americans United for Separation of Church and state…
Vote to retain church brings backlash
By Robert Dilday A Virginia Baptist association’s March vote not to oust a church for ordaining a gay minister has prompted a number of members to leave or consider doing so, renewing suggestions that the congregation at the center of…
Galindo stepping down as dean at BTSR to assume new role at Columbia Theological Seminary
RICHMOND — Israel Galindo, dean and professor of Christian formation and leadership at Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond, has been named associate dean for lifelong learning at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Ga., effective Aug. 1. Israel Galindo Galindo, who…
Two Baptist associations — one urban, one rural — merge to form 96-church ministry network
NORFOLK — Two Baptist associations — one in Virginia’s highly-urbanized Hampton Roads, the other on the state’s rural Eastern Shore — have merged to form a new network of 96 churches. At separate meetings in mid-April, representatives of the Norfolk…
Baptist leaders combat mental illness, suicide
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (RNS) — Frank Page, former president of the Southern Baptist Convention, was getting ready to work in the yard in the fall of 2009 when the phone rang. His daughter was on the line. Daddy, I love you,…
Baptist leaders, with personal experiences, tackle the stigma of mental illness and suicide
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (RNS) — Frank Page, former president of the Southern Baptist Convention, was getting ready to work in the yard in the fall of 2009 when the phone rang. His daughter was on the line. Daddy, I love you,…
County boards in Md., NC. challenged over official sectarian prayers, joining others in region
Two more county governing boards in the Mid-Atlantic are under fire for giving preference to Christian prayers in opening official meetings. The two counties — one in Maryland, the other in North Carolina — join a growing number of others…
Whirlwind tour takes new CBF executive coordinator to five cities in North Carolina
On the heels of her April 20-25 tour of Cooperative Baptist Fellowship churches in Virginia, CBF executive coordinator Suzii Paynter traveled to North Carolina for another five-city tour that included stops in Asheville, Winston-Salem, Greenville, Raleigh and Charlotte between April…
County boards in Md., NC. challenged over official sectarian prayers, joining others in region
Two more county governing boards in the Mid-Atlantic are under fire for giving preference to Christian prayers in opening official meetings. The two counties — one in Maryland, the other in North Carolina — join a growing number of others…