Calling himself a “Southern Baptist whistleblower,” a Texas Baptist pastor on June 10 accused Southern Baptist Convention leaders Ronnie Floyd and Mike Stone of lying about their previous closed-door comments regarding sexual abuse concerns in the denomination. Phillip Bethancourt, pastor...
Smyth & Helwys publisher Staton wins state Senate seat in Georgia
MACON, Ga. (ABP) — Cecil Staton, president of Smyth & Helwys Publishing in Macon, Ga., was elected Nov. 2 to fill an open seat in the Georgia state Senate. Staton, a Republican, garnered 61 percent of the votes in the…
CBF funds flood relief in Asia, receives grant for Middle East
ATLANTA (ABP) — The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship recently gave two grants totaling $10,000 to key areas of flooding in Asia. Meanwhile, the Fellowship received a $66,000 grant from the W.C. English Foundation to fund a medical consultant in the Middle…
Survey: People in house churches more satisfied than conventional counterparts
VENTURA, Calif. (ABP) — House churches — small groups of 20 or so that regularly meet together for worship in a non-conventional setting — are out-performing more traditional congregations when it comes to satisfying attendees, according to a new survey….
Global Christianity becoming both connected, fragmented, prof says
AUSTIN, Texas (ABP) — If Christians worldwide can network with each other, the global Christian church will be poised for effective ministry in the 21st century, according to Anna Robbins of the London School of Theology. That networked church is…
NAE board declines to chasten Cizik for campaign against global warming
MINNEAPOLIS (ABP) — Board members of the National Association of Evangelicals declined March 9 to chasten the group's public-policy officer for his public statements on global warming — but an intramural fight among evangelical elites on the issue may just…
Fellowship adds associate for congregational life
ATLANTA (ABP) — Rick Bennett of Orangeburg, S.C., has been hired as associate coordinator for faith formation for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. Bennett was most recently pastoral educator for First Baptist Church in Orangeburg, S.C., where he worked since 2001….
Swedish lawmakers expected to legalize gay marriage; Lutheran body assents
STOCKHOLM, Sweden (ABP) — Sweden is likely to become the world's sixth nation to offer gay couples full marriage rights. Lawmakers there are expected to approve a gay-marriage recommendation offered by a special government commission March 21. Sweden's state-established Lutheran…
Gay-marriage opponents pledge to continue fight — so do supporters
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Despite a first-round defeat for the Federal Marriage Amendment July 14, proponents vowed to continue fighting and say they expect to win. Matt Daniels, president of the Alliance for Marriage, a coalition of Christian and other groups…