NEW YORK (ABP) – An already contentious debate about the role of faith in presidential politics took a new twist Sept. 20 when Texas Gov. Rick Perry told a New York City press conference he believes America’s continued support for…
Southern Baptists consider sale of conference center
GLORIETA, N.M. (ABP) – The Southern Baptist Convention is scaling back operations at Glorieta Conference Center and considering sale of the 2,100-acre campus near Santa Fe, N.M. Trustees of LifeWay Christian Resources voted recently to cut back from year-round operations…
Cooperative Baptist Fellowship effort to address rural poverty in Missouri
COLUMBIA, Mo. (ABP) – A national initiative for community development may be expanding into Missouri in an effort to alleviate rural poverty. The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship launched Together for Hope in 2001 as a long-term commitment to working with people…
Professors denounce ‘Christian Zionism’
OAK RIDGE, Tenn. (ABP) – Two Baptist ethicists released an open letter Sept. 19 opposing “Christian Zionism” and its effect on U.S. policy toward Israel. As Palestinian leaders prepared to make a unilateral declaration of statehood before the United Nations…
Southern Baptists consider name change
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) – After 166 years as the Southern Baptist Convention, the nation’s second-largest religious body could be getting a new name. SBC President Bryant Wright announced Sept. 19 the appointment of a committee to study whether it is…
Belief in active God & free market closely linked, survey reveals
WACO, Texas (ABP) — Americans who strongly believe God has a plan for their lives are most likely to believe God guides the United States through a free market — and they want to see the government get out of God’s…
Coalition asks Obama to clarify remarks on faith-based hiring
WASHINGTON (ABP) –Fifty-six groups, including the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty, sent a sharply-worded letter Sept. 19 asking President Obama to clarify remarks he made this summer about employment discrimination by faith-based groups receiving taxpayer funding. While running for…
Court refuses to intervene in church dispute over elder rule
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (ABP) – An appeals court has refused to nullify a Florida Baptist church’s decision to switch from congregational to elder rule, saying courts can resolve disputes over church property but not matters of church governance. Several former members…
Suit challenges tax break for clergy
MADISON, Wis. (ABP) – A group of non-believers opposed to government preference and favoritism toward religion has filed a lawsuit seeking to have a federal law that allows clergy members tax breaks on living expenses declared unconstitutional. The Wisconsin-based Freedom…