RALEIGH, N.C. (ABP) — Members of a North Carolina Baptist church voted unanimously Nov. 20 to stop performing civil marriages until it becomes legal for same-sex couples to wed. Pullen Memorial Baptist Church in Raleigh, N.C., says current state law…
OPINION: Tebow apologetics
Football and politics have something in common these days beside combat. Each wrestles with the role religion plays in its game. Tim Tebow is a curious case on the gridiron. A passionate evangelical Christian and one of the most heralded…
Churches need to take the lead in race relations, panelists insist
SAN ANTONIO, Texas — Too often, churches have trailed society at large in terms of embracing racial and ethnic diversity, a multiethnic panel told a regional New Baptist Covenant II gathering in San Antonio. “I believe what we see on…
In subtle shift, Bob Jones University questions ‘fundamentalist’ label
GREENVILLE, S.C. (RNS) — When Bob Jones III recently questioned whether President Obama is a Christian, it was a reminder not only that the fundamentalist leader is controversial but also how little the political world has heard from the man…
Low attendance disappoints New Baptist Covenant II planners
ATLANTA (ABP) — Planners of the Nov. 17-19 New Baptist Covenant gatherings were disappointed with attendance but pleased with the diversity and quality of presentations, one of the organizers said Nov. 21. “We had hoped for a larger attendance,” said…
Cindy Elmore joins staff of Foundation as director of donor relations
RICHMOND, Va. — Cindy R. Elmore has joined the staff of the Virginia Baptist Foundation as director of donor relations. Elmore, a former development director for non-profits in Virginia, assumed her role in early October. Cindy Elmore As the Foundation’s…
In Oklahoma City, New Baptist Covenant takes aim at payday lending
OKLAHOMA CITY — Payday lending traps many of America’s working poor in a vortex of debt, participants at the New Baptist Covenant II satellite meeting in Oklahoma City learned. Each New Baptist Covenant facility focused on a mission project, and…
Speak up for justice, preachers tell crowd at Oklahoma City satellite
OKLAHOMA CITY — The world’s brokenness calls out for Christians who will speak courageously on behalf of justice and fairness, a trio of pastors told participants at the New Baptist Covenant II satellite sessions in Oklahoma City. About 200 people…
N.C. students ‘do interfaith’ through universal language of music
DURHAM, N.C. (RNS) — Say the word “interfaith” and the next word to roll off the tongue is probably “dialogue.” It’s hard to think of one without the other. But college students know there are other ways to communicate, and…