Americans value freedom but there are differences on what it means

NEW BERN, N.C. (ABP) — To be the best-selling, tear-jerking master writer of romantic fiction, Nicholas Sparks' own life seems, well, pretty mundane. Spinning heart-throbbing tales is not what life is all about for Sparks, author of “The Notebook,” his…

PINEVILLE, La. (ABP) — Trustees of Louisiana College, faced with the resignation of their chairman and the school's president, elected a new trustee leader in a closed-door, off-campus meeting July 9. Bill Hudson, pastor of First Baptist Church in Rayne,…

SHANGHAI, China (ABP) — The 135-year-old Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity in Shanghai, China, was handed back to Chinese Christians in June, according to the Church Times of London. Built in 1869, the gothic cathedral is a symbol of…

PINEVILLE, La. (ABP) — The chairman of Louisiana College's board of trustees is the latest school official to resign after trustees instituted several controversial new policies. The Louisiana Baptist school also is under investigation by its accrediting agency, the Southern…

DALLAS (ABP) — Recently publicized efforts by President Bush's re-election campaign to target “conservative churches” have caused the leader of Texas Baptists' public-ethics agency to issue a strong reminder to congregations about how to avoid risking their tax-exempt legal status…

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (ABP) — Warning that “inertia is against planning,” Mark Wingfield said churches must make an intentional effort to achieve effective long-range planning. Wingfield, associate pastor of Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas, was among more than 140 workshop leaders…

WASHINGTON (ABP) — Sen. John Edwards is now officially John Kerry's running mate, and the reactions among social-issues advocacy groups are as unsurprising as Kerry's choice. Reaction was swift July 6 to the Massachusetts Democrat's choice of his Senate colleague…

RICHMOND, Va. (ABP) — The Presbyterian Church (USA) rejected a recommendation July 2 that would have made it easier for non-celibate homosexuals to be ordained in the church. Delegates to the denomination's meeting also agreed to enter into a period…

(ABP) — Three Texas churches have their mission eyes looking steadily southward, and they've banded together to reach a people group that years ago fled to the isolation of Mexico's mountains. The Tarahumara Indians live high in the Sierra Madre…

WASHINGTON (ABP) — A recent Bush-Cheney campaign tactic targeting “conservative” churches and their members has triggered disapproval among church-state watchdog groups, including the Southern Baptist Convention and Americans United for Separation of Church and State. The campaign reportedly sent out…

Kerry: Life begins at conception DUBUQUE, Iowa — Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) told an Iowa reporter that he personally opposes abortion and believes life begins at conception. However, he said, in an interview that appeared July 4 in the Dubuque…

BUIES CREEK, N.C. (ABP) — A group of 28 theologians and educators is asking the Baptist World Alliance to recite the Apostles' Creed at the group's 100th anniversary meeting next year, which would replicate the first act of the BWA…