Clint Dobson ARLINGTON, Texas (ABP) — A 28-year-old Baptist pastor and Truett Seminary graduate was found dead and his 67-year-old ministry assistant severely beaten inside their church on Thursday afternoon, March 3. Police haven't released a cause of death for…
Attention to anti-gay protest group worries fellow Baptists
VALLEY FORGE, Pa. (ABP) – A tiny independent Kansas congregation composed mostly of extended family members of founding pastor Fred Phelps captured headlines March 2 when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 8-1 their controversial “God Hates Fags” protests at funerals…
Supreme Court sides with Westboro Baptist Church
WASHINGTON (ABP) – The United States Supreme Court ruled 8-1 on March 2 that anti-gay protests outside of military funerals by a controversial Kansas Baptist church clan are protected speech under the First Amendment. The ruling overturned a jury decision…
Evelyn Stagg, role model for Baptist women in ministry, dies at 96
Evelyn Stagg LOUISVILLE, Ky. (ABP) – Evelyn Stagg, a trailblazer for Southern Baptist women in ministry, died Feb. 28. She was 96. Born Evelyn Owen in Ruston, La., she was married for 66 years to Frank Stagg, a professor at…
BTSR considering merger with Chowan University
MURFREESBORO, N.C. (ABP) – Cash-strapped Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond is considering a merger with Chowan University, a 162-year-old North Carolina Baptist school 99 miles south of the seminary’s Richmond, Va., campus, in hopes of solving lingering financial problems made…
Oeita Bottorff, SBC moderate leader, dies
DALLAS (ABP) – A key leader in the moderate response to the Southern Baptist Convention inerrancy controversy in the 1980s died Feb. 25 after a long battle with Alzheimer's Disease. Oeita Theunissen, 87, known professionally and in church leadership as…
HBU trustees plan to reconsider non-Baptists on board
HOUSTON (ABP) — Houston Baptist University trustees plan to revisit the matter of allowing non-Baptist Christians on the school’s governing board. In a Feb. 27 e-mail to directors of the Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board, Associate Executive Director…
Vestal predicts deeper cuts at CBF
DECATUR, Ga. (ABP) – The head of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship predicted future budget cuts that for the first time would affect global-missions personnel for the 20-year-old movement spun off from the Southern Baptist Convention. The CBF Coordinating Council normally…
Austin pastor notes value of Christian calendar for spiritual formation
In this interview, Don Vanderslice, pastor of Mosaic Church in Austin, reflects on how his community of faith observes the Christian calendar: Don Vanderslice speaking at the Transforming Culture Symposium in 2008. (David O. Taylor Photo) I’d never been a…
Austin pastor notes value of Christian calendar for spiritual formation
In this interview, Don Vanderslice, pastor of Mosaic Church in Austin, reflects on how his community of faith observes the Christian calendar: I’d never been a part of a community that participated really fully in the Christian calendar until I…
Writer explores array of ancient spiritual practices for believers today
So you want to spend the weeks prior to Easter exploring spiritual disciplines but aren’t sure where to start? In his book The Sacred Way, writer and theologian Tony Jones offers an easily accessible approach to spiritual practices developed by…
Unfamiliar practices may bring unexpected benefits to churches
Introducing unfamiliar practices to church members can be challenging, but congregations often are far less resistant than expected, according to some pastors who have tried it. Photo by Sterling Severns “I think people are hungry for ritual, especially those who…