DALLAS (ABP) — The Baptist General Convention of Texas will end its exclusive marketing agreement with the Southern Baptist Convention's publishing house, an agreement that for years has given SBC materials a priority position among the state's 5,600 churches. The…
Texas Baptists end marketing pact with Lifeway, SBC’s publisher
DALLAS (ABP) — The Baptist General Convention of Texas will end its exclusive marketing agreement with the Southern Baptist Convention's publishing house, an agreement that for years has given SBC materials a priority position among the state's 5,600 churches. The…
CBF signs three-year partnership with All Africa Baptist Fellowship
KUMASI, Ghana (ABP) — The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship has signed a partnership agreement to do ministry with the All Africa Baptist Fellowship, an umbrella organization of Baptists in Sub-Saharan Africa. The three-year, renewable agreement will deploy CBF resources and volunteers…
For children, God needs to be close at hand, educators say
DALLAS (ABP) — Children can begin to understand God if parents and churches will help them, according to ministry leaders. Children and preschoolers struggle to comprehend many abstract aspects of God — God's ability to know all, do all and…
Israeli musicians share faith, music with U.S. churches
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (ABP) — When Esther and Yaacov Horesh describe their faith in Christ, it's a rich blend of their strong Jewish roots and the influence of Baptist missionaries to Israel. “Jesus was Jewish and the first believers were Jewish,”…
CORRECTION
CORRECTION: In the Feb. 24 ABP story, “BWA membership committee shares blame for SBC pull-out, says one member,” the seventh graph, reads: “That's the first I've heard of it,” said [Denton] Lotz to the charge that the membership committee's recommendation…
Senate hearings on amendment prompt rally by gay-rights groups
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Just hours after a Senate hearing on an amendment to outlaw gay marriage nationwide, thousands of same-sex couples and other gay-rights supporters rallied in downtown Washington in response. The Senate Judiciary Committee's subcommittee on the Constitution held…
California Supreme Court decision OKs regulation of Catholic group
WASHINGTON (ABP) — The California Supreme Court has ruled that a Catholic social-service agency must provide contraceptives as part of its prescription-drug benefit for employees — raising alarms among some religious-liberty watchers. By a 6-1 vote, the court ruled that…
Many medical chaplains feel like pastors too
FORT WORTH, Texas (ABP) — If military and prison chaplains serve in “pastoral roles,” then so do chaplains in hospitals, hospices and nursing homes. So say a number of medical chaplains and the professional organizations that oversee their work. There…
Student editorial on gay marriage prompts rebuke from Baylor officials
WACO, Texas (ABP) — A Baylor University student newspaper editorial supporting gay marriage has been condemned by university president Robert Sloan and ruled a violation of school policy by the university's Student Publications Board. An editorial in the Feb. 27…
Gay marriage spreads to Oregon as debate in Congress heats up
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Oregon's most populous county began issuing marriage licenses to gay couples March 3, marking the latest incident of local officials following the lead of San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom in allowing the practice. Two gay men and…
BWA denied exhibit space at SBC convention in June
FALLS CHURCH, Va. (ABP) — A Southern Baptist Convention official has denied exhibition space to the Baptist World Alliance at this June's SBC annual meeting in Indianapolis — even though the convention has not yet approved a recommendation to separate…