Historical drama Pressure clears the air on speaking truth to power

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (ABP) — Baptists of the world are more interested in unity and ministry than in denominational squabbles like the one dividing Baptists in the southern United States, said Denton Lotz, general secretary of the Baptist World Alliance. “It's…

JALALPUR, Bangladesh (ABP) — A Baptist lay pastor has been beheaded in Bangladesh, the second Christian leader to lose his life in that country in a year, according to a Christian news organization. Dulal Sarkar, 35, was attacked as he…

MOSCOW (ABP) – About 100 people picketed a district assembly building in Moscow May 17 because they said plans for a private Russian-American Christian college in a local neighborhood is a threat to the Russian Orthodox Church. According to the…

WASHINGTON (ABP) — With the breakdown of negotiations between the Senate's Democratic and Republican leaders, the chamber is closer than ever to a “nuclear” showdown over the filibuster. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) announced May 16 that his attempts…

WAKE FOREST, N.C. (ABP) — “All is not well” among Southern Baptists, according to seminary president Danny Akin, who cited slumping evangelism statistics as evidence of “grave weakness” in the denomination. The Southern Baptist Convention has “experienced a conservative resurgence,…

WASHINGTON (ABP) — For the first time, a federal judge has overturned a state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. On May 12, U.S. District Judge Joseph Bataillon of Nebraska said that state's ban on gay marriage and other same-sex legal…

WILMINGTON, N.C. (ABP) — A new Cooperative Baptist Fellowship church in southeastern North Carolina has withdrawn its application for membership in the Wilmington Baptist Association after it became the subject of debate at the association's meeting May 12. North Brunswick…

RICHMOND, Va. (ABP) — A federal appeals court has said an inscription of the national motto, “In God We Trust,” on a North Carolina government building is constitutional. In a unanimous ruling May 14, a three-judge panel of the Virginia-based…

WASHINGTON (ABP) — A civil-liberties group is challenging the constitutionality of government support for an abstinence-only sex-ed program that bills itself as an “evangelistic ministry” and gives teenagers silver rings inscribed with a Bible passage. The Massachusetts branch of the…

WACO, Texas (ABP) – A married couple who teach at Baylor University, David and Diana Garland, have had two academic chairs endowed in their honor. The endowments are a double rarity: Baylor never has established individual chairs for both husband…

WYNNEWOOD, Pa. (ABP) – To honor the legacy of former president Gordon Palmer, Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary will change its name to Palmer Theological Seminary July 1. Eastern, located in suburban Philadelphia, is one of 10 seminaries related to American…