Pastors and other Baptist leaders at a Dec. 5 roundtable discussion voted unanimously to request Southern Baptist Convention officials to reconsider restrictive policies regarding speaking in tongues. The 100-plus pastors and laypeople who attended the half-day event at Dwight McKissic's…
ANOTHER VIEW: Waiting with a purpose
When I was giving birth to our first child, one of the nurses asked my husband how he was doing, since he was just standing there, having nothing to do but watch me struggle through labor. My husband, who would…
BGCT to turn over probe results to law enforcement
Officials with the Baptist General Convention of Texas will give law-enforcement agencies the documents produced by an independent investigation that revealed financial malfeasance in its church-starting efforts. Executive Director Charles Wade will provide officials “complete copies of a BGCT-commissioned investigative…
Warren, Obama dismiss criticism of AIDS conference at Saddleback
A star evangelical pastor and a star Democratic senator have fired back at anti-abortion leaders who criticized an AIDS conference designed to rally Christians to fight the global pandemic. Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church in Orange County, Calif.; and…
Baptist’s anti-Muslim remarks appear on Arab news network
Anti-Muslim remarks by a Missouri Baptist executive have made their way onto Al-Jazeerah, the pre-eminent news network in the Arab world. In an Oct. 30 speech to the Missouri Baptist Convention, Executive Director David Clippard said: “Today, Islam has a…
ABC Board confirms decisions to sell building, elect leader
Leaders of the American Baptist Churches USA have approved selling the “Holy Doughnut”—the organization's Pennsylvania headquarters building—and confirmed the appointment of a new head for the denomination's international missions organization. The ABC's General Board voted nearly unanimously Nov. 14 to…
Texas Baptists approve measures to ‘restore trust’ after Valley scandal
“Together We Are Doing More” was the stated theme, but healing from financial scandal was the subtext that dominated the annual meeting of the Baptist General Convention of Texas. Messengers to the Nov. 13-14 meeting elected officers, adopted a $50.6…
Organization at center of scandal in Valley will shut down
A church-planting institute founded by Otto Arango—the central figure in a scandal involving misuse and mismanagement of Texas Baptist church-starting funds in the Rio Grande Valley—will cease to exist at the end of this year. At a special meeting in…
BGCT messengers support Wade despite handling of Valley scandal
Rank-and-file Texas Baptists are sad and angry about the financial scandal in the Rio Grande Valley that has marred their reputation, but most say they still trust their leaders—including executive director Charles Wade—to correct abuses and restore confidence in the…
Alabama Baptists approve budgets,ask Wal-Mart to reconsider
Wal-Mart's support of homosexuality, ethics in state government, and the humanitarian crisis in western Sudan surfaced as some of the top issues this year with Alabama Baptists. And Roger Willmore, pastor of Deerfoot Baptist Church in Trussville, Ala., became the…
Labels mask diverse opinions on faith issues, study says
The stereotypical images of “liberals” and “evangelicals” create a distorted picture of what issues are important to each group, according to new research. A recent survey by researchers at Baylor University reveals much more diverse opinions than politicians have assumed….
Anne Davis, social-work pioneer, dies; had deep Virginia Baptist ties
Anne Davis, a renowned Baptist social worker with deep ties to Virginia Baptist life, died Nov. 9. She was 69. Born in Baskerville, Va., Davis grew up in a rural farming community. After earning degrees from Averett College, Westhampton College…