By Bob Allen Leaders of American Baptist Churches USA joined the larger Baptist family Aug. 25 in the United States and globally in prayer for former President Jimmy Carter and his family after the lifelong Baptist’s recent diagnosis with cancer….
From microbiology to ministry, veteran leader retires from ABC-USA regional post
By Vicki Brown When asked why he gave up microbiology and academia for a pastor’s life, Dwight Stinnett always responds that God has a tremendous sense of humor. God’s humor not only led Stinnett into the pastorate, but also to…
Young adults challenging traditional church membership concepts
By Jeff Brumley The value and purpose of church membership is becoming an increasingly hot topic in Baptist and other congregations these days. And that’s “hot” as in controversial and heated, not popular. And it’s one that occasionally pits older…
Citing confidentiality breaches, American Baptists suspend executive search
By Bob Allen The search for the next general secretary of American Baptist Churches USA is on hold, due to “breaches of confidentiality” in the search process, the denomination’s president announced June 28 at the denomination’s biennial mission summit in…
Maintain legacy of racism busting, American Baptists told
By Bob Allen As the nation’s most racially diverse Protestant denomination, American Baptists must take the lead in eradicating racism and violence such as the June 17 hate crime that took nine lives at a historic African-American church in Charleston,…
American Baptists seeking buyer for Mission Center
By Bob Allen The American Baptist Churches USA has issued a briefing document to assess interest of potential buyers of the denomination’s national offices in metropolitan Philadelphia. 588 Associates, a corporation tasked with potential sale or redevelopment of the American…
Baptists join growing army of relief headed to Nepal
By Jeff Brumley Governments, the United Nations and an army of international aid agencies are pouring relief supplies and workers into Nepal. And faith-based groups, including many Baptist organizations, are going in right along with them. Baptist groups across the…
Statement applauds American Baptists’ contributions to civil rights
By Bob Allen A leadership group in the American Baptist Churches USA adopted a statement March 13 celebrating the role of American Baptists in the civil rights movement and recognizing the 50th anniversary of the March 1965 five-day march from Selma, Ala., to…
American Baptists intervene on behalf of women in Myanmar
By Bob Allen American Baptist Women’s Ministries has issued a statement to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry urging action in response to the Jan. 19 rape and murder of two young Kachin Baptist women in Myanmar by soldiers in the Burmese…
U.S. Baptists welcome thaw in relations with Cuba
By Bob Allen Most Baptists in the United States with personal connections to Baptist communities in Cuba applauded President Obama’s surprise announcement Dec. 17 of plans to normalize relations between two nations separated by only 90 miles of water but…
American Baptist, NYC clergy protest Eric Garner decision
By Bob Allen National and regional leaders of the American Baptist Churches USA called for an examination of the U.S. criminal justice system, while interfaith leaders in New York City said a special prosecutor should investigate police misconduct in light…
Church attracts Millennials, in part, by hiring them
By Jeff Brumley When the blog site MillennialEvangelical published “5 Reasons Why There Are No Millennials in Your Church,” Bob Ballance couldn’t resist sharing it with his friends on Facebook. Not because there are no Millennials in the American Baptist…