(ABP) — Relationship is at the heart of the restorative-justice philosophy — restoring an offender’s relationship with self, family and community. Members of the Restorative Justice Ministry Family Service Center board of directors gather in front of the Community Mediation…
Restorative Justice: Programs focus on healing, not just punishment
(ABP) – The woman sobbed quietly into her hands for a few minutes. Composing herself as best she could, she looked into the eyes of the 18-year-old. "I forgive you," she declared. "But you are going to have to prove…
Restorative Justice: Ministry to inmates’ families key to rehabilitation
(ABP) — Ministry to inmates’ children and spouses can help keep families together through incarceration and after release. Generally, offenders are placed in prisons away from home — often across the state or even in another state. Lynn Humeniuk, director…
Judge in Tajikistan orders Baptist church to close
OSLO, Norway (ABP) — A judge in Tajikistan has ordered a Baptist church in the capital city, Dushanbe, to cease meetings in a private home, saying that housing codes and a new religion law require houses of worship to register…
Baptist college offers model for transforming its neighborhood
HOUSTON (ABP) — Five years ago, the neighborhood north of Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene, Texas, was a scene of broken windows, cars littering yards, lawns turned into weed-filled jungles and paint peeling from houses. But Hardin-Simmons placed a family in…
Ethicist: Obama’s Afghanistan plan falls short of just-war criteria
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) — A Baptist ethicist says President Obama's Dec. 1 speech outlining his Afghanistan strategy did not satisfy criteria used by Christians for centuries to justify war. Robert Parham, pictured here at BCE's 15th anniversary celebration in 2006,…
WWI changed Truett’s views on war, peace and government
HOUSTON (ABP) — Legendary Baptist pastor George W. Truett’s experience preaching to troops in Europe during World War I not only shaped his views about militarism, but also contributed to his growing conviction that only Christ’s church — not any…
Grand jury to review police shooting of Georgia pastor
ATLANTA (ABP) — A north Georgia prosecutor says he will let a grand jury decide whether to bring criminal charges against undercover police officers involved in the fatal shooting of a Baptist minister during a botched drug sting. The Atlanta…
Grand jury to review police shooting of Georgia minister
ATLANTA (ABP) — A north Georgia prosecutor says he will let a grand jury decide whether to bring criminal charges against undercover police officers involved in the fatal shooting of a Baptist minister during a botched drug sting. The Atlanta…