By Bob Allen The interim global missions coordinator for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship has endorsed a proposal before European Baptist leaders this week to relocate the International Baptist Theological Seminary from the Czech Republic to Amsterdam. The last two decades…
Victims shine light on video voyeurism
By Bob Allen Three witnesses at a recent sentencing hearing for a former traveling evangelist sent to prison for secretly videotaping women in a bathroom in his home went on national television Sept. 18 to raise awareness to the growing…
CBF mobilizing teams for Isaac relief
By Jeff Brumley The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship is now issuing calls for money and volunteers to help Louisiana residents impacted by Hurricane Isaac. Those calls have already been answered by debris and muck removal teams from nine CBF churches in seven…
Hearing reveals impact of clergy abuse
News analysis by Bob Allen Women secretly videotaped while showering or in front of a bathroom vanity in the home of a popular Southern Baptist evangelist compared the experience to rape, while young husbands described anger at being betrayed by…
Moderate heritage group to cease operations
ATLANTA (ABP) — A society formed 20 years ago to chronicle history of the Southern Baptist Convention from the moderate perspective during the last two decades of the 20th century has ended its operations and given a $10,000 gift endowment…
Alabama coffee shop fills ministry need
By Jeff Brumley Missional ministry usually involves a church searching beyond its four walls for ways to tackle the pressing needs of its community. Usually. “I agree with the whole missional concept,” said Mart Gray, pastor of Covenant Community Church…
Church van crash kills two
By Bob Allen Two people were killed and 12 others injured Sunday morning when a van carrying youth from Cedar Grove Baptist Church in Maryville, Tenn., collided head-on with an SUV while returning from a weekend retreat in Gatlinburg. The…
Contemplative worship consistent with Baptist principles, say adherents
Contemplative worship — with its emphasis on prayer and reading that leads participants into a silent, meditative encounter with God — pushes some Baptists outside their comfort zone. But the increasingly popular approach sits comfortably with historic Baptist values, according to…
Contemplative worship: It’s not just a Catholic thing
Terms like “silence and reflection,” “creating space” and “getting in touch with yourself” were absent from Chad Kerr’s Baptist upbringing in Georgia. But they’ve since become central to his ability to cope with the demands of life as a bank…
HERITAGE: In memory of a wordsmith
Barbara Dunn Jackson appreciated words and the nuances of their meaning. The walls of her home office were lined with many books on etymology. Barbara wrote a column called “A Last Word” for Synergy, which went to women in ministry….
OUT LOUD
“How did those who drafted the platform make an error that hands back to the Republicans — if only for a nanosecond — the stick they had used to beat the Democrats senseless for a good 30 years?” Jacques Berlinerblau…
TRENDING: 10 jobs in a career
My friend Bob Dale is a walking trend-spotter. Maybe it’s because his son is a professional futurist. Or because he’s written a zillion books on leadership. Or he is reading about five very different books at a time most weeks….

