DANVILLE, Va. (ABP) — Christine Gregory, a Virginia missions leader who broke barriers to women in Baptist leadership roles, died Jan. 22 in a Danville, Va., nursing home. She was 89. Christine Gregory following her election as Virginia Baptists' president…
India’s Supreme Court changes ruling after protest by Christians
FALLS CHURCH, Va. (ABP) — India's Supreme Court amended a ruling upholding a life-in-prison sentence for two men convicted of murdering a Baptist missionary and his two young sons 12 years ago by removing language that critics said appeared to…
Association considers selling property
Editor's Note: This story was edited after publication for clarification. FORT WORTH, Texas (ABP) – Leaders of Tarrant Baptist Association said Jan. 24 they would consider selling a disputed piece of property from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary for fair market…
Wiley Drake considering run for SBC president
BUENA PARK, Calif. (ABP) — A former Southern Baptist Convention vice president criticized by denominational leaders two years ago for controversial comments concerning Barack Obama is considering allowing his nomination for SBC president in 2011. Wiley Drake Wiley Drake, pastor…
CBF carries on ministry in Haiti one year after quake
ATLANTA (ABP) — As Haiti marked the one-year anniversary Jan. 12 of a devastating earthquake that claimed an estimated 300,000 lives and displaced more than 1 million people, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship field personnel and relief workers battled a cholera epidemic…
Baptist group welcomes new policy on travel to Cuba
ATLANTA (ABP) — Leaders of the Alliance of Baptists applauded the Obama administration's relaxing of travel restrictions to Cuba. The policy change, announced Jan. 14, coincided with a delegation leaving Jan. 24 to visit the island nation as part of…
School board votes to keep graduation at Southern Baptist church
CANTON, Ga. (ABP) — A Georgia school board voted Jan. 20 to keep its high-school graduation ceremonies at a Southern Baptist mega-church, ignoring threats of a possible lawsuit. The Cherokee County school board voted unanimously not to move graduations for…
Churches turning to Facebook, LifeWay Research says
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) — Nearly half of more than 1,000 Protestant churches polled by LifeWay Research in September indicated they are using Facebook as a ministry tool. The research arm of the Southern Baptist Convention publisher LifeWay Christian Resources said…
Pastors serve inner-city community on MLK holiday
DALLAS—About 20 Dallas-area pastors used the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday to minister to an inner-city neighborhood. Pastors helped distribute 2,000 bowls of chili during a Martin Luther King holiday mission emphasis in inner-city Dallas. (PHOTOS/Courtesy of Dallas Baptist Association)…
ABP managing editor departs
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (ABP) — Rob Marus has left his position as managing editor of Associated Baptist Press. David Wilkinson, ABP's executive director, said Marus' departure, effective Jan. 15, was an outgrowth of a "rigorous assessment" of the news organization's priorities…
Baptists work for peace, relief amid ethnic violence in India
FALLS CHURCH, Va. (ABP) — Baptist leaders called for global prayer for peacemaking efforts and for churches and communities affected by ethnic strife in northeast India. According to the Baptist World Alliance, the Garo Baptist Convention mobilized relief efforts to…
Seminary moving forward with plans to evict association
FORT WORTH, Texas (ABP) — Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary has indicated in a second letter that it intends to pursue its claim to office space currently used by Tarrant Baptist Association, apparently because the association retains as a member a…