RICHMOND, Va. — When a minister gets fired, will a search committee automatically set his or her resume aside or give it a fair hearing? Many pastors who had to leave their churches discover search committees are reluctant to interview…
Pairing ministers and churches has never been easy, say observers
More an art than a science, matching a minister's skills with a church's needs has tested the limits of generations of pastoral search committees. And for Baptists — fiercely committed to local church autonomy and resistant to outside influences —…
New Baptist Covenant II to unite Baptists personally and virtually
ATLANTA (ABP) — In about two months, Baptists of many stripes will gather simultaneously in dozens of cities across the country for a unique virtual meeting, during which they will not only worship and learn but spread out to work…
God and the free market
WACO, Texas — Milton Friedman, meet Rick Warren. Americans who strongly believe God has a plan for their lives are most likely to believe God guides the United States through a free market — and they want to see the…
Baptist leader says executing murderers is pro-life
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (ABP) – A Southern Baptist seminary president says that according to the Bible, capital punishment is pro-life. “The death penalty is not about retribution,” Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, said in a podcast Sept. 22….
Presidential candidate links Israel policy to religious faith
NEW YORK (ABP) – An already contentious debate about the role of faith in presidential politics took a new twist Sept. 20 when Texas Gov. Rick Perry told a New York City press conference he believes America’s continued support for…
Southern Baptists consider sale of conference center
GLORIETA, N.M. (ABP) – The Southern Baptist Convention is scaling back operations at Glorieta Conference Center and considering sale of the 2,100-acre campus near Santa Fe, N.M. Trustees of LifeWay Christian Resources voted recently to cut back from year-round operations…
Cooperative Baptist Fellowship effort to address rural poverty in Missouri
COLUMBIA, Mo. (ABP) – A national initiative for community development may be expanding into Missouri in an effort to alleviate rural poverty. The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship launched Together for Hope in 2001 as a long-term commitment to working with people…
Southern Baptists consider sale of New Mexico conference center
GLORIETA, N.M. (ABP) — The Southern Baptist Convention is scaling back operations at Glorieta Conference Center and considering sale of the 2,100-acre campus near Santa Fe, N.M. Trustees of LifeWay Christian Resources voted recently to cut back from year-round operations…
Professors denounce ‘Christian Zionism’
OAK RIDGE, Tenn. (ABP) – Two Baptist ethicists released an open letter Sept. 19 opposing “Christian Zionism” and its effect on U.S. policy toward Israel. As Palestinian leaders prepared to make a unilateral declaration of statehood before the United Nations…
Southern Baptists consider name change
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) – After 166 years as the Southern Baptist Convention, the nation’s second-largest religious body could be getting a new name. SBC President Bryant Wright announced Sept. 19 the appointment of a committee to study whether it is…
Belief in active God & free market closely linked, survey reveals
WACO, Texas (ABP) — Americans who strongly believe God has a plan for their lives are most likely to believe God guides the United States through a free market — and they want to see the government get out of God’s…