Let’s tell a new story: Juneteenth and the Fourth of July

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…

POMONA, Calif. (ABP) — After years of conflict centering mainly on the issue of homosexuality, a large regional body of the American Baptist Churches USA has voted to continue the process of separating itself from the denomination. In an April…

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (ABP) — Trustees of the North American Mission took the first steps down the road to recovery May 1-2, two weeks after their embattled president resigned under pressure. “We walked away with a great deal of unity…

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (ABP) — Bubbling dissatisfaction over the Southern Baptist Convention's direction among some of its most loyal supporters may become action after a summit, scheduled to take place May 2-3 Memphis. Benjamin Cole, pastor of Parkview Baptist Church in…

RICHMOND, Va. (ABP) — International Mission Board officials have reinstated Wyman and Michelle Dobbs, the missionary couple who had faced termination for establishing a “baptistic” church in the West African nation of Guinea. The couple's pastor reported the news May…

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (ABP) — Meeting in a city known for both racism and reconciliation, the Alliance of Baptists pledged to remake itself into “an anti-racist organization.” The action came as the Alliance began its 20th year with its annual convocation…

MACON, Ga. (ABP) — Following a formal separation initiated by the Georgia Baptist Convention last November and several pronouncements by university leaders calling for a clear Baptist identity, Mercer University trustees voted April 21 to amend the school's charter to…

ABILENE, Texas (ABP) — Americans are besieged by lies about the relationship of church and state, Brent Walker insisted during the Maston Christian Ethics Lectures at Hardin-Simmons University's Logsdon School of Theology, April 10-11. “The lies I want to talk…