VAN BUREN, Ark. (ABP) — Arkansas Baptist State Convention leaders narrowly rejected an attempt Nov. 7 to remove a peculiar constitutional provision on communion and baptism that historians say is rooted in a 19th-century Baptist controversy. Messengers to the body's…
Speaking at Baptist college, Laura Bush urges adults to be role models
DALLAS (ABP) — At a conference held at Dallas Baptist University, First Lady Laura Bush urged Americans to engage and encourage the country's youth. Bush spoke during a regional Helping America's Youth conference held at the school. She said today's…
McCracken, founder of prominent Christian music company, dies
WACO, Texas (ABP) — Jarrell McCracken, who founded one of the world's largest Christian entertainment companies, died Nov. 7. He was 79. The Baylor University graduate founded Word Inc. in 1951 in Waco, Texas. The company became prominent in the…
Record floods in southern Mexico displace 800,000; Baptists respond
DALLAS (ABP) — Hundreds of thousands of people were driven from their homes in southern Mexico after that region's worst-ever flooding, prompting assistance from several Baptist groups in the United States. When more than a week of heavy rains caused…
IMB attorney says trustee board has power to suspend Burleson
RICHMOND, Va. (ABP) – Although the full Southern Baptist Convention is the only group with the power to unseat a trustee of one of its agencies, the International Mission Board's attorney said Nov. 8 the board has the legal power…
House passes first-ever bill banning job discrimination against gays
WASHINGTON (ABP) — After 33 years of trying, gay-rights groups got one of their biggest legislative victories in history Nov. 7. Some said the bill didn't go far enough, while gay-rights opponents claimed it would undermine heterosexual marriage and threaten…
IMB trustees censure Burleson, bar him from board activities
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (ABP) — In a rare move, trustees of a Southern Baptist Convention agency voted Nov. 6 to censure one of their own and effectively bar him from carrying out the duties of his office. However, reform-minded Oklahoma pastor…
Pat Robertson endorses Giuliani despite views on abortion, gays
WASHINGTON (ABP) — The controversial founder of the Christian Coalition has endorsed a Republican presidential candidate known for his support of abortion rights and gay rights. In a Nov. 7 Washington press conference, television evangelist Pat Robertson announced he is…
Chuck Poole returns to former pulpit after 4 years among city’s poorest
JACKSON, Miss. (ABP) — In 2003, Chuck Poole left the pastorate of Northminster Baptist Church to minister to the street people of Jackson, Miss., and others living in poverty. Four-and-a-half-years later, he is returning to that same pulpit — changed…
National survey reveals lack of knowledge about First Amendment
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Nearly two-thirds of Americans believe the Founding Fathers meant the United States to be a Christian nation, and more than half believe the U.S. Constitution establishes a Christian nation, a national survey revealed. Produced by The First…
Opinion: Toward a truly evangelical Baptist future
In moving this summer from Union University to Mercer University I transitioned from a school that moves in the orbit of the Southern Baptist Convention to an institution that moves in the orbit of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. And so…
Kerry hopes presidential candidates ‘get it right’ on religion in ’08 race
WASHINGTON (ABP) — On All Saints' Day 2007, John Kerry talked publicly about his faith in a way that many of his fellow Democrats wish he had in 2004, when he lost his presidential bid to President Bush. But, Kerry…