JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (ABP) – Here is a list of notable deaths in 2011 that were reported by Associated Baptist Press. — Morris Ashcraft, 88, who taught at three Southern Baptist Convention seminaries before serving as acting president at the launch…
Year in review: Newsmakers in 2011
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (ABP) – Between headlines of “Church backing pastor jailed on molestation charges” on Jan. 3 and “Scholar says Christmas as celebration of domesticity a modern invention” on Dec. 22, Associated Baptist Press published 586 news and feature stories…
Scholar says Christmas as ‘celebration of domesticity’ a modern invention
LONDON (ABP) – As churches alter or cancel worship services this weekend because Christmas this year falls on Sunday, a Baptist theologian in the United Kingdom says the way the holiday is celebrated is relatively new. Stephen Holmes Stephen Holmes,…
BWA, SBC leaders meet for first time since 2004
FALLS CHURCH, Va. (ABP) – Leaders of the Baptist World Alliance traveled to Nashville, Tenn., Dec. 19 to meet with leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention, a founding member of the BWA that withdrew in 2004 over theological differences. Initiated…
Baptist pastor delivers 200,000 signatures to Lowe’s
MOORESVILLE, N.C. (ABP) – Lowe’s officials met Dec. 20 with a group of ministers who hand-delivered more than 200,000 petition signatures protesting the company’s decision to pull its advertising from a television show criticized by a conservative Christian group for…
Gaza Baptist Church, ‘functioning’ but ‘restricted,’ says Brother Andrew
SANTA ANA, Calif. (ABP) – The last remaining evangelical church in Gaza is functioning but in danger of dying, famed Bible smuggler Brother Andrew said after a recent visit to Gaza Baptist Church. Hanna Massad “Christians in the west are…
Baptists, Pentecostals seek common ground
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (ABP) – Leaders of two large Christian traditions held preliminary conversations Dec. 13-15 to lay groundwork for ecumenical dialogue between Baptists and Pentecostals around the world. Delegations from the Baptist World Alliance and Pentecostal World Fellowship set guidelines…
S.C. Baptist leader says Gingrich top choice
POWDERSVILLE, S.C. (ABP) – The newly elected president of the South Carolina Baptist Convention says conservative voters in the state will have an easier time voting for a repentant adulterer than a Mormon. Brad Atkins, pastor of First Baptist Church…
Former staffer at SBC mega-church focus of abuse investigation
CYPRESS, Texas (ABP) – A Texas youth minister already charged with statutory rape of a 16-year-old was arrested Dec. 14 for allegedly sending inappropriate text messages and videos to a 14-year-old girl he met while serving at a Southern Baptist…