RICHMOND, Va. (ABP) — After receiving an April 15 ultimatum to resign or face termination, Wyman and Michelle Dobbs have refused to resign as International Mission Board missionaries in Guinea, West Africa. The couple was targeted for starting a church…
Correction
Please replace the third paragraph of the April 13 story, “Outspoken activist, inspirational pastor from Manhattan's Riverside Church, dies,” with the following: Known for his outspoken leadership in civil-rights and peace movements during the 1960s and 1970s, Coffin hosted notable…
IMB critics propose resolution affirming right of dissent among Southern Baptists
ARLINGTON, Texas (ABP) — A Dallas-area pastor says he will introduce a resolution “on Baptist dissent” — apparently aimed at controversial actions by some Southern Baptist agency trustees — during this summer's Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting. Benjamin Cole, a…
NAMB president Bob Reccord resigns over allegations of poor management
ATLANTA (ABP) — After a trustee investigation produced a scathing report of numerous examples of poor management, Bob Reccord resigned as president of the North American Mission Board, effective immediately. “I regret that events of recent weeks have created an…
New Christian ecumenical group off the ground with 34 members
ATLANTA (ABP) — Four years in the making, a new group designed to be the broadest ecumenical coalition in American history was officially formed March 31. Thirty-four denominational and parachurch groups, representing a broad spectrum of American Christianity, constituted Christian…
Record number of U.S. church groups reflects immigration, yearbook says
DALLAS (ABP) — Amid intense national debate about immigration reform, the National Council of Churches recently announced immigrants have had a positive impact on U.S. churches: The council's annual yearbook reports a record number of church bodies for 2006. One…
Coffin, outspoken activist, pastor of NYC’s Riverside Church, dies
NEW YORK (ABP) — William Sloane Coffin Jr., former CIA agent, peace activist, Yale University chaplain, accomplished pianist and esteemed pastor of Manhattan's Riverside Church, died April 12. Coffin died from congestive heart failure at his home in Vermont. He…
IMB may dismiss Africa missionaries for starting non-Baptist congregation
RICHMOND, Va. (ABP) — Another controversy is brewing at the Southern Baptist Convention's International Mission Board, which reportedly is set to dismiss two of its missionaries in West Africa for cooperating with non-Baptist colleagues to plant a church that isn't…
Despite SBC urging, VP nominees don’t toe the line on donations
GREENSBORO, N.C. (ABP) — In a year when Southern Baptist Convention leaders are calling for the election of SBC officers “whose churches give at least 10 percent of their undesignated receipts to the Cooperative Program” — the SBC's ministry budget…
Baptist General Convention of Missouri enters partnership with WorldconneX
ROACH, Mo. (ABP) — The Baptist General Convention of Missouri has entered into a three-year partnership with WorldconneX, a missions network launched by Texas Baptists in 2004. The purpose of the partnership, which took effect March 31, is to encourage…
Reccord mulls resignation from NAMB while some trustees warn of firing
ATLANTA (ABP) –As embattled Southern Baptist leader Bob Reccord met with prominent pastors April 13 seeking advice about his future, several of his own trustees at the North American Mission Board urged him to resign as the agency's president. Reccord…
ABP, Baptist Standard form ‘strategic alliance’
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (ABP) — Associated Baptist Press and the Baptist Standard of Texas are creating a “strategic alliance” to improve the quality and efficiency of their news organizations. The two have cooperated closely for more than a decade, but the…