Please replace the fourth paragraph in the Feb. 7 story, “Fires damage four more churches in rural Alabama – all Baptist” with the following: Austin Banks, a senior special agent for the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, said…
Global Christianity becoming both connected, fragmented, prof says
AUSTIN, Texas (ABP) — If Christians worldwide can network with each other, the global Christian church will be poised for effective ministry in the 21st century, according to Anna Robbins of the London School of Theology. That networked church is…
Clarification
In the Feb. 21 ABP story, “Supreme Court upholds RFRA in saying OK to sacramental drug,” a lack of clarity in the 16th paragraph could cause some readers to misunderstand a source's statement. Please replace that paragraph with the following:…
NAE board declines to chasten Cizik for campaign against global warming
MINNEAPOLIS (ABP) — Board members of the National Association of Evangelicals declined March 9 to chasten the group's public-policy officer for his public statements on global warming — but an intramural fight among evangelical elites on the issue may just…
As arson investigation continues, Alabama church ‘bounces back’
RANDOLPH, Ala. (ABP) — As investigators continue to search for clues to lead them to the arsonists who set fire to 10 Alabama churches in 10 days, members of one burned-out church have only forgiveness in their hearts for the…
Fellowship adds associate for congregational life
ATLANTA (ABP) — Rick Bennett of Orangeburg, S.C., has been hired as associate coordinator for faith formation for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. Bennett was most recently pastoral educator for First Baptist Church in Orangeburg, S.C., where he worked since 2001….
Pakistani workers strike, children burn flags in anti-cartoon violence
KARACHI, Pakistan (ABP) – Violence continues in Muslim countries worldwide as protests over the Danish cartoons of Muhammad increase in fervor. In Pakistan, more than 50,000 people chanted anti-American slogans and burned flags during a protest that came a day…
Swedish lawmakers expected to legalize gay marriage; Lutheran body assents
STOCKHOLM, Sweden (ABP) — Sweden is likely to become the world's sixth nation to offer gay couples full marriage rights. Lawmakers there are expected to approve a gay-marriage recommendation offered by a special government commission March 21. Sweden's state-established Lutheran…
Massachusetts court delivers gay-marriage setback
BOSTON (ABP) — The same court that created a national firestorm by legalizing gay marriage in 2003 delivered gay-rights activists a setback March 30 in a related case. The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court ruled 7-1 that an obscure 1913 law…
Gay-marriage opponents pledge to continue fight — so do supporters
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Despite a first-round defeat for the Federal Marriage Amendment July 14, proponents vowed to continue fighting and say they expect to win. Matt Daniels, president of the Alliance for Marriage, a coalition of Christian and other groups…
Hollifield elected to director’s post in North Carolina Baptist convention
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (ABP) — Milton Hollifield became the 14th executive director-treasurer of the North Carolina Baptist State Convention during a special called convention April 11 — the first in the convention's history. An announced total of 1,066 messengers attended the…
Portland archdiocese files bankruptcy, halts civil suits on molestation claims
PORTLAND, Ore. (ABP) — The archdiocese of Portland, Ore., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the wake of civil lawsuits accusing two parish priests of child molestation. The bankruptcy claim forestalls the trials, which were set to begin June 13….