FALLS CHURCH, Va. (ABP) — Chilean Baptists’ top leader tearfully thanked Baptist World Alliance officials March 10 for the aid and support shown to her country since its Feb. 27 earthquake — and said that the needs and opportunities remain…
Faith leaders say abortion provisions adequate in health-care bill
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Twenty-five evangelical and Catholic leaders wrote members of Congress March 11 urging them not to let a dispute over abortion derail passage of health-care reform. Some pro-life Democrats have said they will vote against President Obama's proposed…
Uzbek Baptist gets 10 years in jail
OSLO, Norway (ABP) — Uzbekistan has sentenced a Baptist arrested in January to 10 years in prison on drug charges that fellow Baptists insist are fabricated. Forum 18, a Norwegian news service that tracks stories about abuses of religious freedom,…
Supreme Court accepts case testing limits of free speech
WASHINGTON (ABP) — The U.S. Supreme Court has decided to wade into what is expected to be one of the most-watched cases in the court's 2010-2011 term — whether the privacy rights of grieving families trump the free-speech rights of…
Legal expert says remaining Baptist jailed in Haiti likely to be set free
BOISE, Idaho (ABP) – Unless new charges are filed against her, the last of 10 Southern Baptist mission volunteers jailed in Haiti on suspicion of child kidnapping will have to be released, according to an expert on Haiti's legal system….
CBF seeks funds, volunteers for long-term Haiti relief
ATLANTA (ABP) — With nearly $350,000 raised from churches and individuals for earthquake relief in Haiti as of the end of February, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship leaders said March 9 that more funds are needed for ministry that will go on…
Ala. CBF leader McDougal returns to pastorate with call to Dallas church
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (ABP) — The leader of the Alabama state affiliate of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship will leave that post at the end of May to return to local-church ministry after a Texas church voted to call Brent McDougal as…
Dallas church announces gay-friendly stance, endangering BGCT affiliation
DALLAS (ABP) — A Dallas church has changed its website to identify itself as inclusive of varied sexual orientations — a move that potentially could put the congregation at odds with the Baptist General Convention of Texas, which previously has…
New Baptist hymnal favors singing traditions, innovations simultaneously
ATLANTA (ABP) — Bucking a trend in many churches to eschew four-part harmonies for praise choruses projected on a screen, a new hymnal released March 8 seeks to introduce both old favorites and lesser-known new compositions to a new generation…
New Baptist hymnal unveiled in Atlanta
ATLANTA (ABP) — A new hymnal for Baptist churches in the works for four years premiered in Atlanta March 7. Choirs from five churches gathered for a Sunday afternoon service unveiling the Celebrating Grace Hymnal, a joint initiative of Townsend-McAfee…
New Baptist hymnal unveiled in Atlanta
ATLANTA (ABP) — A new hymnal for Baptist churches in the works for four years premiered in Atlanta March 7. Choirs from five churches gathered for a Sunday-afternoon service unveiling the Celebrating Grace Hymnal, a joint initiative of Mercer University's…
Widow shares experience on one-year anniversary of pastor’s slaying
MARYVILLE, Ill. (ABP) — March 8, 2009, started out as a fairly normal Sunday for Cindy Winters. Her husband, Fred, got up early to preach the 8:15 a.m. service at First Baptist Church in Maryville, Ill. One of their daughters…