FORT WORTH, Texas (ABP) — A historic Fort Worth church has cut off its 125-year-old relationship with the Baptist General Convention of Texas, saying it doesn't want to be distracted by questions concerning the congregation's position on homosexuality. Broadway Baptist…
BPFNA urges support for Muslims; N.Y. project director decries discourse
NEW YORK (ABP) – As the leader of an effort to build an Islamic community center in Lower Manhattan expressed his dismay Sept. 13 at the rising tide of anti-Islam rhetoric across the country, the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North…
NAMB presidential nominee defends church’s giving record
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (ABP) — The Kentucky pastor nominated to become president of the Southern Baptist Convention's North American Mission Board says the search committee viewed his congregation's emphasis on direct funding of missions — as opposed to funding through denominational…
Baptist peace activist dies
NEW YORK (ABP) — A Baptist activist best known for his opposition to the United States' nearly 50-year-old trade embargo with Cuba died Sept. 7 after suffering a massive heart attack at age 80. Walker's August 2009 photograph with Fidel…
Baptists worldwide register protests against threatened Quran burning
ATLANTA (ABP) — While it remained unclear the afternoon of Sept. 10 whether a tiny fringe church in Gainesville, Fla., would go ahead the next day with plans to host an incendiary protest against the Islamic holy book, Baptists across…
Fear not, Jesus said — but some Christians still do
(ABP) — Perfect love, wrote the Apostle John, casts out fear. No caption submitted For Christians, that simple maxim would seem to be an easy formula for stress-free living. But 2,000 years after those words were written, many disciples of…
Faith, fear clash in middle Tennessee over proposed mosque
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (ABP) — Mike Smith, pastor of First Baptist Church in Murfreesboro, Tenn., received an anonymous letter this summer asking him to warn his congregation that a proposed new mosque near the city was part of “a long-range plan…
Living in the midst of fear challenging but possible, church leaders insist
RICHMOND, Va. (ABP) — Peaceful living in a fear-provoking environment is challenging, even — maybe especially — for Christians. The unpredictable 21st century isn’t likely to settle down any time soon. Church leaders suggested several ways Christians can confront fear….
La. Baptist Convention exec challenges Ezell pick at NAMB
ALEXANDRIA, La. (ABP) — In an unprecedented open letter to trustees of the Southern Baptist Convention’s North American Mission Board, the head of an SBC-affiliated state convention called Sept. 9 for NAMB trustees not to endorse a search committee’s recommendation…