LOS ANGELES (ABP) — One week after its debut, a movie based on the Gospels' simple Nativity narrative is spurring optimism among Christian film fans, who seem willing to overlook potentially scandalous news about one of the movie's stars. “The…
Opinion: Waiting with a purpose
When I was giving birth to our first child, one of the nurses asked my husband how he was doing, since he was just standing there, having nothing to do but watch me struggle through labor. My husband, who would…
Correction
In the Dec. 6 ABP article “Leaders at Texas conference join McKissic's call for more freedom,” the following quote in the 18th paragraph should be attributed to Benjamin Cole, not Wade Burleson: “It's not about the public use of speaking…
Seasonal meals for homeless bring lovebirds together
DALLAS (ABP) — Two formerly homeless Dallasites found food and shelter through a Baptist church — and much more. They found each other, found a new life together in Christ, and now have found a way to bless others less…
Are Baptist leaders doing enough about clergy sex-abuse revelations?
DALLAS (ABP) — Recent sex scandals among Catholic and evangelical leaders are prompting renewed calls for action against clergy sexual abuse. But with research indicating such abuse is more prevalent among clergy — including Baptists — than other counseling professionals,…
Conference, report highlight ongoing legal wrangling over faith programs
WASHINGTON (ABP) — In a year when President Bush's “faith-based initiative” faced considerable public-relations challenges, it also continued to raise challenging legal and institutional questions, according to a new report from an independent group. In the past year, the White…
Moldovan Baptists, Global Women sponsor groundbreaking conference on sex trade
CHISINAU, Moldova (ABP) — Moldovan Baptist leaders recently joined forces with Baptist women from the United States to confront a subject that is still taboo among some Christians there: the sex trade in poor parts of Eastern Europe. Alabama-based Global…
Baylor bags plans to publish controversial school history
WACO, Texas (ABP) — Baylor University has reversed plans to publish a book about its recent history, following criticism of the work's depiction of recent disputes at the world's largest Baptist school. Critics dismissed the work as essentially a defense…
Leaders at Texas conference join McKissic’s call for more freedom
ARLINGTON, Texas (ABP) — Pastors and other Baptist leaders at a Dec. 5 roundtable discussion voted unanimously to request Southern Baptist Convention officials to reconsider restrictive policies regarding speaking in tongues. The 100-plus pastors and laypeople who attended the half-day…
Wrapup: Summit calls global church to bring justice to AIDS crisis
LAKE FOREST, Calif. (ABP) — When 5,500 people die of AIDS every day, the need is not for charity but for justice, says Bono, and the church must do something about it. “That's a lot of our brothers and sisters…
Dead Afghanistan soldier’s widow wins long battle over Wiccan grave symbol
WASHINGTON (ABP) — The widow of an American soldier killed in Afghanistan has finally gotten what she said her husband would have wanted: A pagan religious symbol placed on his government-issued gravestone. Roberta Stewart, widow of Sgt. Patrick Stewart, saw…
Supreme Court to decide if taxpayers can sue over Bush’s faith-based plan
WASHINGTON (ABP) — The Supreme Court will, for the first time, hear a case directly related to President Bush's faith-based initiatives, his attempt to expand the government's ability to fund social services through churches and other religious charities. However, the…