Baptist News Global

Celebrity Christians

RICHMOND — “Stay out of the limelight.” That's Amy Grant's advice to celebrities who don't want their personal failures aired in public. The successful Christian pop singer should know. After her very public divorce in 1999, details of her marital…

Oprah’s unorthodox spirituality touches audience, but is it ‘twitter & twaddle’?

WASHINGTON (RNS) — Oprah Winfrey has become a catalyst for a new journalistic project and increasing news coverage by conservative Christians questioning and criticizing her spiritual beliefs. Some evangelical Christians have voiced alarm Winfrey is introducing the 46 million viewers…

The Gospel According to ‘the Boss’

BOSTON (RNS) — To millions of fans, he's “the Boss,” the blue-jeaned troubadour of the American heartland who finds nobility in the grind of daily life. Across 35 years in dozens of rock anthems, from Born to Run to Glory…

Athlete Strait seeks to set straight-and-narrow example

JACKSON, Tenn. — Cody Strait has traded red for blue, but his message is still about white — as in Christian purity. After four years with the Cincinnati Reds organization, Strait, from Sour Lake, was traded to the Kansas City…

Fredericksburg’s ‘non-sectarian’ prayers upheld

FREDERICKSBURG (ABP) — Sandra Day O'Connor has had her say again on an important church-state decision, in this case saying a Virginia city council's practice of offering non-sectarian prayers does not violate the United States Constitution. The retired U.S. Supreme…

Virginia Baptist Homes offers additional choices

RICHMOND — With the trend toward consumers wanting more choices and with the widespread availability of long-term care insurance, Virginia Baptist Homes has added a second pricing option, offering flexibility and choice. The fee-for-services option has recently become available at…

Lyons to direct Culpeper home

CULPEPER — Josh Lyons was recently named executive director of Culpeper Baptist Retirement Community. Prior to joining the staff of CBRC, Lyons served on the management team at The Chesapeake, CBRC's sister community in Newport News. Lyons is a graduate…

Sherman diagnosed with leukemia, wife dies at 90

RICHMOND (ABP) — Virginia Baptist pastor and Cooperative Baptist Fellowship pioneer Cecil Sherman has been diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia. Sherman, 80, sought treatment options at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston after receiving the diagnosis July 25 and exploring…

BWA ushers in new structure, Muslim response

PRAGUE, Czech Republic (ABP) — About 400 delegates to the Baptist World Alliance's annual gathering in Prague, Czech Republic, ended their meeting July 25 with approval of a major re-structuring of the organization's governing structure. Baptists from more than 60…

Pastors’ challenges differ by region, speakers say

PRAGUE, Czech Republic (ABP) — Global Baptist pastors' problems are as different as the countries and regions in which they minister, according to speakers at the July 21-24 Baptist World Alliance annual gathering in Prague. Over the past year, the…

Saudi king’s conference rejects terrorism

(RNS) A global conference of about 300 interfaith leaders concluded July 18 in Spain with a declaration that rejects terrorism and calls for a special United Nations session on dialogue. Calling terrorism “one of the most serious obstacles confronting dialogue…

Obama, McCain’s first joint appearance set for Warren’s Saddleback Church

LAKE FOREST, Calif. (ABP) — Barack Obama and John McCain will make their first joint 2008 campaign appearance to an audience of Christian activists at a Southern Baptist church. The two have agreed to participate in a “compassion forum” at…

Mohler again claims same-sex marriage harms children

Dan Patrick reiterates: ‘No separation of church and state’

Baptists know better than this

Judge bars Tennessee from revealing immigration status of sick children