WASHINGTON (RNS)—At age 19, Mitt Romney was a typical college student, schmoozing about politics, pulling pranks and sneaking away to see his girlfriend. Then he went on a 30-month Mormon mission in France. He returned to the United States in…
HeraldBeat: Tracking Baptists across the Mid-Atlantic
Transitions ON THE MOVE Matt Cook, to First Baptist Church, Wilmington, N.C., as pastor. Michael Khol, to Mulberry Grove Baptist Church, Buckingham, Va., as pastor. Ron Cava, to First Baptist Church, Henderson, N.C., as pastor, effective Sept. 9. Tom Doubt,…
Will candidates’ Mormon faith repel or attract voters?
WASHINGTON (RNS)—As the first Mormon selected by a major political party as its presidential candidate, will Mitt Romney’s barrier-breaking faith be a boon or bane to his White House campaign? Two studies on the question come to contradictory conclusions. In…
LEADERSHIP LINK: Blessed are the church leaders who make peace in their own congregations: Part 3
Church leaders have a responsibility not only to effectively manage conflict when it arises, but to promote peace and good congregational health. Stated one way, church leaders seek to prevent conflict. Stated more positively and forcefully, however, church leaders need…
LEADERSHIP LINK: Churchgoers believe in sharing faith, but most never do
When it comes to discipleship, churchgoers struggle most with sharing Christ with non-Christians, according to a recent study of church-going American Protestants by LifeWay Research, a unit of LifeWay Resources of the SBC. The study found 80 percent of those…
Challenge to clergy tax break clears hurdle
By Bob Allen A Wisconsin judge has given a green light to a lawsuit challenging a federal law that exempts clergy from paying income taxes on the fair rental value of their homes. U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb ruled Aug….
The Mormon moment
By Bob Allen Nearly 200 years after religious zeal prompted a young convert named Joseph Smith to found a movement called the Latter-day Saints, the once-despised minority “cult” increasingly is going mainstream. With a Mormon running for president, a hit…
UPDATED EDITORIAL: Just another campaign?
Two paragraphs in Jim White's editorial, "Just another campaign," have been clarified. To read the updated material, which is italized, go here.
GOP platform called most conservative
By Bob Allen Delegates to the 2012 Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., accused President Obama of waging a “war on religion,” declared a “fundamental individual right to life” for the unborn and reaffirmed support for a constitutional ban on…
Black Baptist group gathers in Atlanta
By Jeff Brumley About 20,000 delegates are expected in Atlanta Sept. 3-7 for the 132nd annual session of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc., the oldest and largest of the historically African-American Baptist denominations. Unlike some other Baptist groups, the…
IBTS trustees propose move to Amsterdam
By Bob Allen Trustees of the International Baptist Theological Seminary have proposed relocating the 63-year-old seminary from Eastern Europe to the Netherlands. If approved by the European Baptist Federation governing council Sept. 26-29 in Germany, the move would mark a…
Baptist seminary in Prague, one of the first causes adopted by moderates, may move to Amsterdam
PRAGUE, Czech Republic (ABP)—Trustees of the International Baptist Theological Seminary—one of the earliest casualties of the theological dispute in the Southern Baptist Convention and among the first causes adopted by moderate Baptists in the Mid-Atlantic—have proposed relocating the seminary from…