(ABP) — Leaders at theological schools that receive financial support from the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship generally agree the Fellowship needed to reconsider how it relates to such “partner” institutions. But “the devil is in the details,” one administrator said, particularly…
Justices reinforce government power to seize homes, other property
WASHINGTON (ABP) — A closely divided Supreme Court ruled June 23 that municipal and other governments have broad power to seize private property — including, possibly, houses of worship — for public purposes. And while churches continue to enjoy heightened…
SBC may consider asking WMU to come under convention authority
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) — The Southern Baptist Convention will consider attempting to bring its women's auxiliary under its authority, thanks to a motion from the floor of the SBC annual meeting. Woman's Missionary Union is an auxiliary to the SBC,…
Dead frogs and baptisms gain attention of Southern Baptists
NASHVILLE, Fla. (ABP) — What do dead frogs and stagnant churches have in common? A lot, Southern Baptist Convention president Bobby Welch told the recent SBC meeting. Welch provided one of the more memorable sermon props in recent history when…
NCAA extends Baylor’s probation, cuts games, for basketball violations
WACO, Texas (ABP) — Baylor University's men's basketball team is banned from non-conference play for one year and is under five years of probation for NCAA infractions discovered after the murder of former basketball player Patrick Dennehy in 2003. Four…
New progressive group to counter Religious Right on Christian terms
WASHINGTON (ABP) — A new left-leaning advocacy organization wants to carve out a niche for itself in an increasingly crowded field of groups trying to counter the Religious Right's rhetoric. Leaders of the Christian Alliance for Progress held a formal…
Klansman guilty of manslaughter of three civil-rights activists
Editor's note: This story is updated to include the judge's sentence. PHILADELPHIA, Miss. (ABP) — Forty-one years after the crime, Baptist preacher and former Ku Klux Klan member Edgar Ray Killen was sentenced to 60 years in prison for…
SBC to ‘investigate’ public schools, end Disney boycott, support troops
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) — Southern Baptist Convention messengers voted June 22 “to hold accountable schools, institutions and industries for their moral influence on our children.” The resolution also urges parents and churches “to investigate diligently the curricula, textbooks and programs…
Bush highlights CBF church in speech to Southern Baptists
ORLANDO, Fla. (ABP) — President George W. Bush mistakenly praised a church affiliated with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship during a speech to the Southern Baptist Convention June 21. College Park Baptist Church in Orlando, Fla., sent money to the SBC…