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…
UK Baptist leader mourns Sandy Hook
By Bob Allen The head of the Baptist Union of Great Britain issued a statement Dec. 18 mourning “the horrific loss of life” in the Dec. 14 elementary school massacre in Newtown, Conn., and calling for stronger gun control in…
OPINION: From somewhere to everywhere and back again
Many of my friends know that, at best, I am a “low-church” liturgist. A few years ago, most of the rigidity of the liturgical calendar was more binding than loosing to me — both as a pastor and as a…
Church declines to leave BGAV
By Bob Allen A Virginia Baptist church under fire for ordaining an openly gay man to the ministry has turned down an offer to withdraw voluntarily from the Baptist General Association of Virginia, setting the stage for its dismissal from…
At holidays, churches ready for ‘CEOs’
By Ken Camp Christmas provides churches with a rare opportunity to touch the lives of those on the fringes of congregational life, the Christmas-and-Easter-only worshippers. Some roll out the red carpet for what ministers jokingly refer to as the “CEOs.”…
Accused child predator must stand trial
By Bob Allen A Mississippi judge ruled Dec. 18 that the state’s statute of limitations does not prevent prosecution of a former Southern Baptist music minister charged with molesting five boys in the early 1980s. Hinds County Circuit Judge Bill…