By Jeff Brumley Stemming the decline in Southern Baptist church membership will be the focus of a Jan. 29 workshop hosted by the Florida Baptist Convention and North American Mission Board in Brandon, Fla. The Florida Baptist Witness reported the…
Baptist deaths in 2012
By Bob Allen Francis McBeth, an internationally acclaimed composer and conductor and longtime professor of music at Ouachita Baptist University, died Friday, Jan. 6, at age 78. Longtime Baptist journalist Jim Newton, 75, died Jan. 16 in Clinton, Miss., after a battle with…
Westboro: Condemn or ignore them?
By Jeff Brumley Public resentment of Westboro Baptist Church has reached new heights as a petition drive to label it a hate group has surpassed 250,000 signatures. Even some religious leaders have joined in the chorus denouncing the Kansas-based group…
Baptist group grants millions
By Jeff Brumley Baptist Health Foundation of San Antonio said it awarded almost $6 million in grants during 2012. The amount — $5,839,804, to be exact – represents a 3 percent increase over last year and brings total grants given…
Fire damages church in Forth Worth
By Jeff Brumley The fire that heavily damaged Chinese Baptist Church of Forth Worth, Texas, on Christmas Eve has left its congregation shaken during one of the most sacred seasons of the year. It’s an emotionally searing experience that another…
2012: A year in review
By Bob Allen Here are some of the top newsmakers of 2012 as reported by ABPnews. Obamacare Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President Albert Mohler observed in January that Health and Human Services regulations, including pregnancy in “preventive services” that insurers…
Faith leaders call for gun reform
By Bob Allen Religious leaders from various faith groups gathered in Washington’s National Cathedral Dec. 21 asking their congregations to lobby Congress for gun control and mental health reforms in the wake of recent school shootings in Newtown, Conn. Curtis…
Pastor says Newtown needs privacy, time
By Bob Allen A Cooperative Baptist Fellowship pastor who ministers near Newtown, Conn., says one of the best things people can do to help right now is to pray for first responders coping with psychological trauma and clergy who are…
Blaming God for tragedy nothing new
By Jeff Brumley Many criticized prominent evangelicals like James Dobson and Mike Huckabee for claiming last week’s Connecticut school massacre was God’s punishment of a morally disobedient nation, but don’t expect such views to change. Scholars say the belief in divine retribution…
LETTER: Nativity scene demonstrates meaning of Christmas
The editor’s desire to remove the nativity scene from the public square is disturbing [Crèche evangelism?]. For Christians, Christianity would not exist without the birth of the little baby laid in a manager. For the secular public, it is one…
Scholar says gay teen suicide a moral issue
By Bob Allen Simply denouncing acts of overt violence against gays without addressing the underlying message that people with same-sex attractions are abnormal and inferior to heterosexuals is not enough, a gay Baptist minister argues in a recent Religion Dispatches…
SBC leader supports gun ownership
By Bob Allen Gun ownership and using lethal violence to save lives are applications of the Golden Rule, Southern Baptists’ top leader on moral and ethical concerns said Dec. 19 on National Public Radio. Asked on NPR’s All Things Considered…