WASHINGTON (ABP) — Nearly 70 percent of the world’s 6.8 billion people live in countries with high restrictions on religion, according to a new study by the Pew Research Center’s Forum on Religion & Public Life. Titled Global Restrictions on…
SECOND OPINION: Less revenge, more forgiveness
‘Revenge is the rage at the movies,” proclaims The Wall Street Journal. Well, there’s a surprise. The WSJ notes that revenge, retribution and retaliation are served up (with heaping helpings of violence, naturally) in a trio of recent releases: Edge…
Virginia Baptist educator named CBF field rep for Tennessee affiliate
ATLANTA (ABP) — The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship has hired a Richmond, Va., minister its third "field coordinator," a shared staff position designed to promote cooperation and communication between state and national CBF organizations. The Atlanta-based CBF and Tennessee Cooperative Baptist Fellowship…
Great Commission Task Force head surprised at backlash to report
MONROE, Mich. (ABP) — The head of a task force appointed last summer to recommend ways to make the Southern Baptist Convention more effective in reaching the lost said March 16 he was surprised by negative reaction to parts of…
BWA leaders hear thanks for quake relief, requests for more aid, prayers
FALLS CHURCH, Va. (ABP) — Chilean Baptists’ top leader tearfully thanked Baptist World Alliance officials March 10 for the aid and support shown to her country since its Feb. 27 earthquake — and said that the needs and opportunities remain…
Legal expert says remaining Baptist jailed in Haiti likely to be set free
BOISE, Idaho (ABP) — Unless new charges are filed against her, the last of 10 Southern Baptist mission volunteers jailed in Haiti on suspicion of child kidnapping will have to be released, according to an expert on Haiti's legal system….
Supreme Court accepts Baptist church case testing limits of free speech
WASHINGTON (ABP) — The U.S. Supreme Court has decided to wade into what is expected to be one of the most-watched cases in the court's 2010-2011 term — whether the privacy rights of grieving families trump the free-speech rights of…
Hymnal aims to introduce old favorites, latest compositions to new generation
ATLANTA (ABP) — Bucking a trend in many churches to eschew four-part harmonies for praise choruses projected on a screen, a new hymnal released March 8 seeks to introduce both old favorites and lesser-known new compositions to a new generation…
New Baptist hymnal unveiled in Atlanta
ATLANTA (ABP) — A new hymnal for Baptist churches in the works for four years premiered in Atlanta March 7. Choirs from five churches gathered for a Sunday afternoon service unveiling the Celebrating Grace Hymnal, a joint initiative of Townsend-McAfee…
Rankin welcomes ‘token commitment’ to increased IMB funding by task force
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (ABP) — The head of the Southern Baptist Convention International Mission Board welcomed a recent progress report by a Great Commission Task Force as a "token" step toward redistributing more resources to the denomination's primary task of reaching…
Study says blogs a growing but largely untapped influence on religion
BROOKLYN, N.Y. (ABP) — Blogs are a growing but still relatively underutilized influence on today's religious discourse, according to a study of the religious blogosphere by the Social Science Research Council. "Blogs have given occasion to a whole new set…
Baptist expert says Establishment Clause applies to foreign policy
WASHINGTON (ABP) — A Baptist church-state specialist voiced concern about a think-tank report urging a new direction for U.S. foreign policy focused on the role religion plays in world affairs. Writing for the On Faith blog WashingtonPost.com, Brent Walker, executive…