LONDON (ABP) – As churches alter or cancel worship services this weekend because Christmas this year falls on Sunday, a Baptist theologian in the United Kingdom says the way the holiday is celebrated is relatively new. Stephen Holmes Stephen Holmes,…
BWA, SBC leaders meet for first time since 2004
FALLS CHURCH, Va. (ABP) – Leaders of the Baptist World Alliance traveled to Nashville, Tenn., Dec. 19 to meet with leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention, a founding member of the BWA that withdrew in 2004 over theological differences. Initiated…
Baptist pastor delivers 200,000 signatures to Lowe’s
MOORESVILLE, N.C. (ABP) – Lowe’s officials met Dec. 20 with a group of ministers who hand-delivered more than 200,000 petition signatures protesting the company’s decision to pull its advertising from a television show criticized by a conservative Christian group for…
Gaza Baptist Church, ‘functioning’ but ‘restricted,’ says Brother Andrew
SANTA ANA, Calif. (ABP) – The last remaining evangelical church in Gaza is functioning but in danger of dying, famed Bible smuggler Brother Andrew said after a recent visit to Gaza Baptist Church. Hanna Massad “Christians in the west are…
Baptists, Pentecostals seek common ground
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (ABP) – Leaders of two large Christian traditions held preliminary conversations Dec. 13-15 to lay groundwork for ecumenical dialogue between Baptists and Pentecostals around the world. Delegations from the Baptist World Alliance and Pentecostal World Fellowship set guidelines…
BGAV president names committee chairs for 2012
RICHMOND, Va. — David Washburn, pastor of First Baptist Church in Waynesboro, Va., has been named chair of the Baptist General Association of Virginia’s budget committee for 2012. The appointment was one of 10 committee chairs named by BGAV president…
S.C. Baptist leader says Gingrich top choice
POWDERSVILLE, S.C. (ABP) – The newly elected president of the South Carolina Baptist Convention says conservative voters in the state will have an easier time voting for a repentant adulterer than a Mormon. Brad Atkins, pastor of First Baptist Church…
Former staffer at SBC mega-church focus of abuse investigation
CYPRESS, Texas (ABP) – A Texas youth minister already charged with statutory rape of a 16-year-old was arrested Dec. 14 for allegedly sending inappropriate text messages and videos to a 14-year-old girl he met while serving at a Southern Baptist…
SNAP protests pharmacy license for accused predator
CLINTON, Miss. (ABP) – A support group for victims of sexual abuse by clergy is calling on a state pharmacy board to revoke a license recently issued to a former music minister awaiting trial on eight charges of felony gratification…
Virginia church helps India seminary start music school
VINTON, Va. — Two years ago, when Chris Monroe visited the Precious Children International Village near Kottayam, India, it was not with the intent of starting a school of music in cooperation with the India Baptist Theological Seminary there. Nevertheless,…
Group says Southern Baptists oppose religious equality in the military
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (ABP) – A group dedicated to separation of church and state in the armed forces charged that Southern Baptists are against religious equality after an article compared its work at the U.S. Air Force Academy to “a mission…
Alleged peeping evangelist charged in third town
WALDRON, Ark. (ABP) – A traveling Southern Baptist evangelist and former camp pastor for LifeWay Christian Resources faces new charges of video voyeurism in a third mid-South community. Sammy Nuckolls WMC-TV in Memphis, Tenn., reported Dec. 15 that an arrest…