What could your church do with $122 million?

WASHINGTON (ABP) — As supporters vow to continue the fight for a constitutional amendment banning homosexual marriage, many leading constitutional scholars say an amendment is too drastic a measure. Louis Michael Seidman, professor at Harvard Law School, said the proposed…

WASHINGTON (ABP) — A broad coalition of concerned parties — including Nobel laureates, scientific leaders, foreign countries and American religious denominations — is urging the Supreme Court to ban the death penalty for offenders who were under 18 at the…

HOUSTON (ABP) — Chip Conyers, one of Truett Theological Seminary's first faculty members, died July 18 at the age of 60 in Houston following a long struggle with cancer. Conyers — whose full named was Abdah Johnson Conyers — “possessed…

WASHINGTON (ABP) — Senate supporters of a constitutional ban on gay marriage failed to muster a simple majority in support of the amendment July 14 — meaning the proposal is likely dead in the Senate until next year. A motion…

WASHINGTON (ABP) — Procedural disputes in the Senate will likely prevent an up-or-down vote on a federal same-sex marriage ban that was expected to take place July 14. Disagreements between Republicans and Democrats and within the GOP itself appeared June…

RICHMOND, Va. (ABP) — Michael Clingenpeel, editor and business manager of Virginia Baptists' newspaper for the past 12 years, will be the next pastor of River Road Church, Baptist, in Richmond, Va. Succeeding James Slatton, who retired in 2003 after…

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…