By Bob Allen The Obama administration proposed a broader opt-out Feb. 1 for religious organizations that object to mandated coverage of contraceptives in employee health care plans, an effort to alleviate religious-liberty concerns behind a number of lawsuits challenging the…
Church loses second minister
By Ken Camp Jim Gray, 68, associate senior adult minister at First Baptist Church of Woodway, Texas, near Waco, was killed Jan. 30 in a head-on crash as he drove to the church for Wednesday night services. The accident happened…
Chick-fil-A flap didn’t hurt profits
By Bob Allen Last summer’s uproar over Chick-fil-A head Dan Cathy’s defense of the company’s support for organizations opposed to gay marriage didn’t hurt the company’s bottom line. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the fast-food giant took in $4.6 billion…
OPINION: Not afraid of kangaroos — Fear-based decision making
At my house, we love to play games. My son, at 3 the youngest member of our family, will play games until he literally falls asleep sitting up. He has a few favorites: Granny’s House, Chutes and Ladders, Uno, Trouble…
American Baptists laud ‘Gang of 8’ plan
By Bob Allen American Baptist leaders tasked with ministry to immigrants and refugees welcomed a bipartisan framework unveiled by eight senators being called the “gang of eight” for their public effort to get the ball rolling on legislation to rewrite…
Church security after Sandy Hook
By Jeff Brumley The Sandy Hook school massacre terrified parents nationwide and sparked a debate on gun control and school security. But it’s also led to some soul searching on church staffs worried about how to best protect worshipers and…
SBC says RAs could rival Scouting
By Bob Allen A decision by the Boy Scouts of America to drop its ban on openly gay Scouts and volunteers could prompt churches to find an alternative in Royal Ambassadors, a Southern Baptist missions education program for boys, according…
Activist hopeful about gay marriage
By Bob Allen A gay Baptist minister arrested after trying to apply for a marriage license in Kentucky says he is optimistic that people opposed to same-sex marriage will change their minds over time, even in conservative places like the…
American Baptists take on gun violence
By Bob Allen Directors of American Baptist Home Mission Societies unanimously adopted a statement Jan. 23 recommending 10 measures aimed at combating gun violence in the United States. The measures, approved during a two-day retreat in Atlanta, include a ban…
Appalachian women struggling with poverty, lack of education find hope in new Bluefield program
BLUEFIELD, Va. — Women in Appalachia without access to higher education or whose circumstances have left them in poverty now have hope for a new beginning through a program developed at Bluefield College. The New Opportunity School for Women at…
Religious Herald nets $1.5 million gift
By Robert Dilday The Eula Mae and John Baugh Foundation has pledged $1.5 million to be distributed over four years to the Religious Herald, the news organization’s executive editor announced Jan. 28. “The generosity of the Baugh Foundation decision-makers enables…
Abuse cover-up alleged at SBC church
By Bob Allen A mother who says her son was molested more than 20 years ago by a then-staff member at one of the Southern Baptist Convention’s largest churches says the congregation’s leaders need to come clean about what a…