WASHINGTON (ABP) — As far as the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court is concerned, a civil-unions bill would be a separate and unequal response to their earlier ruling legalizing same-sex marriage. Their latest pronouncement was read publicly for the first time…
Theater chain reverses, agrees to air BGCT ad
DALLAS (ABP) — After initially refusing to show a 30-second advertisement produced by the Baptist General Convention of Texas because it was “too dark,” AMC Theatres tentatively have agreed to show a modified version of the clip. On Feb. 4,…
Retired pastor to become head of Texas Baptist benevolent group
DALLAS (ABP) — The Texas Baptist Men personnel search committee will nominate Leo Smith to be the organization's executive director at the group's Feb. 27 board meeting. Smith is currently TBM's interim executive director, a position he accepted after resigning…
Texas Baptists spread gospel as Super Bowl comes to state
HOUSTON (ABP) — The Super Bowl has spring-boarded many athletes to international fame, but Baptists regularly use the event to point people to something even greater. Several thousand Baptists, primarily from Texas, sought to share the gospel with non-Christians by…
Jackson’s Super Bowl incident leads to further FCC uproar, federal investigation
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Standards of decency on broadcast television are again in the news as the Federal Communications Commission investigates what led to an incident during the halftime show at Super Bowl XXXVIII. The show, watched by an estimated 99…
Army honors Baptist chaplain for service to soldiers in Iraq
ATLANTA (ABP) — A Baptist chaplain has been awarded the Army's Bronze Star for “exceptionally meritorious service” while serving in Iraq. Maj. Scott Sterling, an ethics instructor at the U.S. Army Chaplain School in Fort Jackson, S.C., received the honor…
Candidates express support for separation, opposition to Bush’s ‘faith-based’ program
WASHINGTON (ABP) — The major Democratic candidates for president support faith influencing public policy but differ with President Bush on the role of religious groups in public life, according to a series of interviews conducted by an advocacy group. The…
BWA president Kim says ‘liberalism’ is in eye of beholder
ATLANTA (ABP) — On a tour of American churches, the head of Baptist World Alliance said Southern Baptist Convention leaders' attacks against his group could be turned on themselves. An SBC study committee recently recommended the denomination break all ties…
Influence of local associations factors into unrest in N.C.
GREENSBORO, N.C. (ABP) — How much influence should a local Baptist association have on the decisions of a state convention? That question is at the heart of a controversy some say threatens to split the Baptist State Convention of North…