Historical drama Pressure clears the air on speaking truth to power

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (ABP) — Sam Shaw, senior pastor at Germantown Baptist Church, has a problem on his hands. As in a growing number of Baptist churches, Germantown leaders — including Shaw — want to elect elders. And while many people…

RICHMOND, Va. (ABP) — Under a new agreement, officials at the Southern Baptist Convention's International Mission Board have reinstated a missionary couple they threatened to fire for establishing a church that was not explicitly Baptist in the West African nation…

(ABP) — What do some contemporary, Calvinist and cowboy churches have in common? They all have elders. But the similarity pretty much stops there. As with many other churches, the identity, role and authority of elders varies widely. In contemporary-style…

WASHINGTON (ABP) — Several of the United States' allies remain among the world's most egregious violators of human rights, according to a non-partisan federal panel's report. In addition, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom said, two nations whose oppressive…

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (ABP) — About 30 Southern Baptist conservatives from diverse backgrounds are repenting of the triumphalism, arrogance and isolationism they say threatens the integrity of the 16 million-member denomination. Saying they represent “disparate constituencies” in the Southern Baptist Convention,…

WASHINGTON (ABP) — Peace talks aimed at ending what the United States government and international human-rights groups have labeled “genocide” in Darfur faltered May 2, just days after thousands of protesters rallied in Washington for beefed-up measures to help the…