GAZA CITY, Palestine (ABP) — Palestinian police have seized a Baptist church in the Gaza Strip for the second time in recent months, the church's pastor said June 15. Hanna Massad, pastor of the Gaza Baptist Church, said Gaza's Baptists…
Baptist bloggers calling it quits, turning to other methods, ministry
(ABP) — The most prominent Baptist bloggers who led a two-year revolt against the Southern Baptist Convention establishment have abandoned their Internet-fueled campaign, but they insist they will continue the crusade for more openness in the SBC with other methods….
In historic move, First Baptist Decatur calls woman as senior pastor
DECATUR, Ga. (ABP) — First Baptist Church of Decatur, Ga., has become the largest church associated with the Southern Baptist Convention or the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship to hire a woman as senior pastor. In a closed business session after Sunday…
Southern Baptists doubt human cause, government solution to global warming
SAN ANTONIO (ABP) — The Southern Baptist Convention rejected scientific claims that humans are to blame for global warming and dismissed the governmental efforts to reverse it. Messengers to the annual SBC meeting also stood by their resolution committee's decision…
Mark Olson named president of Washington-area seminary
ARLINGTON, Va. (ABP) — Trustees of the John Leland Center for Theological Studies have named Mark Olson, former pastor of Snyder Memorial Baptist Church in Fayetteville, N.C., as the second president of the Virginia school. Olson, who was unanimously elected,…
Ruth Graham, wife of evangelist Billy Graham, dead at 87
MONTREAT, N.C. (ABP) — Ruth Graham, the wife of evangelist Billy Graham, died June 14 at her home at Little Piney Cove in Montreat, N.C. She was 87. An author, philanthropist, Congressional Gold Medal winner and mother of five, Graham…
SBC messengers pass motion, resolution on clergy sex-abuse
SAN ANTONIO — On June 1, the Baptist General Convention of Texas posted online the names of eight convicted sex offenders who worked as ministers in convention-affiliated churches. The list is the latest development in a heated discussion within Southern…
Definition of Cooperative Program sparks SBC messenger debate
SAN ANTONIO (ABP) — A proposal to define what constitutes Cooperative Program giving sparked lengthy debate during the opening session of the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting, including a charge that the measure “goes against historical Baptist polity.” The recommendation…
SBC appoints strategy coordinator for churches’ ‘ex-gay’ ministries
SAN ANTONIO (ABP) — The Southern Baptist Convention has commissioned a Texas pastor to become its “national strategist for gender issues” — a position designed to promote “ex-gay” ministries to SBC congregations. Bob Stith, who said God convicted him more…
Radical Islam, radical atheism threaten America, Colson tells pastors
SAN ANTONIO (ABP) — The United States faces twin dangers of radical Islam and radical atheism, Chuck Colson, the former Watergate-conspirator who founded Prison Fellowship Ministries, told pastors at the Southern Baptist Convention. “No time in history have we looked…
Radical Islam, radical atheism threaten America, Colson tells pastors
SAN ANTONIO (ABP) — The United States faces twin dangers of radical Islam and radical atheism, Chuck Colson, the former Watergate-conspirator who founded Prison Fellowship Ministries, told pastors at the Southern Baptist Convention. “No time in history have we looked…
Missional gathering at SBC event contemplates global movement
SAN ANTONIO (ABP) — A global church planting movement could begin in five to 10 years, Pastor Bob Roberts told a small but passionate gathering of missional leaders who met prior to the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting. Meeting late…