WASHINGTON (RNS) — Often accused of ignoring religion as they craft foreign policy, the White House and State Department are trying to show that religion is a rising priority for U.S. diplomacy. The most recent case in point: Secretary of…
Women in ministry pioneer seeks glimpses of holy as prison chaplain
ASHEVILLE, N.C. (ABP) — When Nancy Sehested finished her powerful sermon at the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina state meeting in March, people were moved both by the message and to ask, “Where has she been?” As one of…
BWA expresses solidarity with Baptists in Norway after terror acts
FALLS CHURCH, Va. (ABP) — The head of the Baptist World Alliance has sent a letter of solidarity to Baptists in Norway in response to recent mass killings in that country that claimed at least 76 lives. Neville Callam, general…
ANALYSIS: What’s behind China’s hard line against Catholics?
VATICAN CITY (RNS) — When China’s state-run Catholic Church ordained a new bishop for the Diocese of Shantou July 14 without the Vatican’s approval, it represented the latest step back from years of progress in a complex relationship. Yet the…
As political candidates run for office, some run from their church
NEW YORK (RNS) — On a recent Sunday, Rep. Michele Bachmann offered a Pentecostal church in Iowa an intimate account of her pilgrimage from apathetic teenager to devout Christian whose faith has persevered through hardship, including a miscarriage. But when…
Mid-Atlantic Baptists building bridges in China through basketball clinics
XI’AN, China — Coordinating their efforts through the Virginia Baptist Mission Board and the local YMCA, a team of athletes from Baptist churches in Virginia and both Carolinas led basketball clinics in July for youth in the central Chinese city…
China Christian Council confirms continued ties with Virginia Baptists
SHANGHAI, China — A leader of the China Christian Council — the official organization of Protestant churches in China — affirmed the group’s continuing commitment to strong ties with the Baptist General Association of Virginia during a meeting with BGAV…
Blogosphere abuzz over Rupert Murdoch as ‘Bible mogul’
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (RNS) — The scandal involving Rupert Murdoch’s British tabloid empire continues to widen, bringing scrutiny to, of all places, western Michigan and the Zondervan publishing company. Among the major holdings in Murdoch’s News Corp is publisher HarperCollins,…
Calling old name ‘problematic,’ Campus Crusade rebrands itself
FORT COLLINS, Colo. (RNS) — Campus Crusade for Christ is out. “Cru” is in. The 60-year-old evangelical ministry announced its new name at a staff conference in Fort Collins, Colo., on July 19, saying the old name had become problematic….