ATLANTA (ABP) — Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Executive Coordinator Daniel Vestal and Moderator-elect Colleen Burroughs have issued a historic letter in response to Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1963 “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” The statement responding to King’s letter emerged from the…
BJC’s Walker recognized for advancing religious liberty
RICHMOND, Va. (ABP) — Baptist Joint Committee Executive Director J. Brent Walker was recognized Jan. 13 for his work advancing freedom of conscience and basic human rights for people of all faiths, traditions and cultures. BJC executive director Brent Walker…
Missouri Baptists begin search for new leader
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (ABP) — The Missouri Baptist Convention Executive Board met in special session on Jan. 14 and appointed a subcommittee that will recommend members of an executive director search committee. The information was released in a press statement following…
Seminary gives association six months to vacate property
FORT WORTH, Texas (ABP) — Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary notified Tarrant Baptist Association before Christmas it had six months to vacate its offices on the edge of the seminary campus. The seminary asserted the association was in violation of its…
Mentoring offers ministry students an important support system
DALLAS (ABP) — While a seminary degree can be an important component of a pastor’s toolbox, relationships with other pastors can be just as important — if not more so, according to some Texas Baptists who work with students preparing for…
Life coaching makes its way into churches
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (ABP) — Career coaching has been around in the business field for decades. More recently, it spun off a concept of life coaching. Now, the coaching concept is starting to make its impact in churches. Most experts credit…
Academy for Spiritual Formation blends discipline, community
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP)—Growing up in a Baptist church and later working part-time as a youth minister, Johnny Sears always believed his faith had to go deeper than a set of beliefs or activities. “How do we take prayer from being…
Faith leaders call for ‘soul searching’ after Tucson attack
WASHINGTON (ABP) — More than 50 religious leaders signed an open letter to Congress urging a time of national "soul searching" following the recent tragedy in Tucson that included an attack on a member of the House of Representatives. Prominent…
Westboro Baptist Church changes picket plans
NEW YORK (ABP) — Westboro Baptist Church has dropped plans to picket the funerals of six victims gunned down Jan. 8 in Tucson, Ariz., in exchange for air time on a nationally syndicated radio show. The small, family church from…