DANVILLE, Va. — In the parable of the Good Samaritan Jesus says a person keeps the commandment to love God and neighbor by ministering to his neighbor. Saturday, Oct. 8, is a day that will long be remembered for ministry…
Virginia Beach, Va., church utilizes its resort location to impact community
VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. — Until about 15 years ago, St. John’s Baptist Church in this resort community was surrounded by farms and country roads. Today those farms have been replaced by $500,000 houses filled with people eager to enjoy Virginia…
News Analysis: Churches not typically first reporters of sexual abuse
DENVER (ABP) – Southern Baptist churches are rarely the first party to report allegations of child sexual abuse by clergy to legal authorities, according to an analysis of news stories aggregated at a website maintained by an advocate for victims….
Baptist church takes stand for gay marriage
RALEIGH, N.C. (ABP) – Members of a North Carolina Baptist church voted unanimously Nov. 20 to stop performing civil marriages until it becomes legal for same-sex couples to wed. Pullen Memorial Baptist Church in Raleigh, N.C., says current state law…
Baptist church takes stand for gay marriage
RALEIGH, N.C. (ABP) — Members of a North Carolina Baptist church voted unanimously Nov. 20 to stop performing civil marriages until it becomes legal for same-sex couples to wed. Pullen Memorial Baptist Church in Raleigh, N.C., says current state law…
OPINION: Tebow apologetics
Football and politics have something in common these days beside combat. Each wrestles with the role religion plays in its game. Tim Tebow is a curious case on the gridiron. A passionate evangelical Christian and one of the most heralded…
Low attendance disappoints New Baptist Covenant planners
ATLANTA (ABP) – Planners of the Nov. 17-19 New Baptist Covenant gatherings were disappointed with attendance but pleased with the diversity and quality of presentations, one of the organizers said Nov. 21. “We had hoped for a larger attendance,” said…
SBC leader says churches not immune from ‘anti-child culture’
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) – Richard Land, the Southern Baptist Convention’s top spokesman on moral concerns, says the Penn State sexual abuse scandal is symptomatic of a larger “anti-child culture” in the United States, and that churches are not immune. During…
Panel: Churches need to take lead in race relations
SAN ANTONIO, Texas (ABP) — Churches too often have trailed society at large in terms of embracing racial and ethnic diversity, a multiethnic panel told a regional New Baptist Covenant II gathering in San Antonio. “I believe what we see on…
Subtle shift at fundamentalist bastion
GREENVILLE, S.C. (RNS) — When Bob Jones III recently questioned whether President Obama is a Christian, it was a reminder not only that the fundamentalist leader is controversial but also how little the political world has heard from the man…
Churches need to take the lead in race relations, panelists insist
SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Too often, churches have trailed society at large in terms of embracing racial and ethnic diversity, a multiethnic panel told a regional New Baptist Covenant II gathering in San Antonio. “I believe what we see on…
In subtle shift, Bob Jones University questions ‘fundamentalist’ label
GREENVILLE, S.C. (RNS) — When Bob Jones III recently questioned whether President Obama is a Christian, it was a reminder not only that the fundamentalist leader is controversial but also how little the political world has heard from the man…