BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. (ABP) — Charles Bugg was installed as dean of the M. Christopher White School of Divinity at Gardner-Webb University during the Aug. 29 convocation in the campus chapel. He came to the post June 1 from Baptist…
Christian leaders rebuke Robertson for assassination recommendation
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Something of an international diplomatic crisis ensued Aug. 23, after news spread that conservative Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson had called for the assassination of Venezuela's president. Representatives of groups as diverse as the State Department, the Department…
Federal agency defunds ‘faith-based’ charity
WASHINGTON (ABP) — A federal agency has withdrawn funding from an abstinence program that is part of President Bush's “faith-based initiative,” saying it does not have proper safeguards in place to avoid direct government support of religion. In a letter…
Georgetown, Kentucky Baptist Convention to dialogue about future relationship
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (ABP) — A 14-member joint workgroup is being formed to review the working relationship between Georgetown College and the Kentucky Baptist Convention. The request for dialogue, proposed by Georgetown's board of trustees, was approved by the KBC Mission…
Stem-cell discovery may negate controversy over research
WASHINGTON (ABP) — A new discovery in embryonic stem-cell research may end up leap-frogging the political and moral debates over the procedure. A team of researchers from Harvard University announced Aug. 21 that they had converted adult human skin cells…
Rick Warren clarifies SBC ties after ‘misstatement’ in interview
LAKE FOREST, Calif. (ABP) — Saddleback Community Church is the largest congregation in the Southern Baptist Convention. But is it really Southern Baptist? Pastor Rick Warren told a group of high-profile journalists in May that the 40,000-member church no longer…
Counselors help tsunami victims deal with emotion damage too
SAN ANTONIO, Texas (ABP) — In Matara, Sri Lanka, school teachers have moved all the classes to the upper floor because the children refuse to meet in the school's ground-level rooms. The memory of the Dec. 26 tsunami is still…
Taizé founder Brother Roger stabbed to death during worship
TAIZE, France (ABP) — The legendary founder of a monastic community that united Christians from Anglican, Lutheran, Catholic and evangelical traditions was stabbed to death during a prayer service Aug. 16. Brother Roger, leader of the Taizé Community in the…
‘Holy discontent’ can inspire good leaders, Hybels says
SOUTH BARRINGTON, Ill. (ABP) — Church leadership grows out of an unrelenting compulsion to follow God, speakers repeatedly told participants in the 10th annual Leadership Summit Aug. 11-13. Simulcast live from Willow Creek Community Church in suburban Chicago, the conference…