A controversial new documentary movie contends age-graded Sunday school and youth ministry are doing more harm than good. In Divided, young filmmaker Philip Leclerc sets out to discover why so many people of his generation are leaving the church. The…
Can Sunday School be saved? Experts look at its future
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Sunday school, a staple of Protestant church life in the United States in the 20th century, is in decline, prompting some scholars to question whether the institution has a future. The Southern Baptist Convention has reported declines…
Baptist church takes stand for gay marriage
RALEIGH, N.C. (ABP) — Members of a North Carolina Baptist church voted unanimously Nov. 20 to stop performing civil marriages until it becomes legal for same-sex couples to wed. Pullen Memorial Baptist Church in Raleigh, N.C., says current state law…
Diverse Baptists gather around shared concerns at New Baptist Covenant
ATLANTA (ABP) — Baptists laid aside differences of race, geography and tradition to affirm common values of care for the poor and marginalized in Atlanta and satellite locations across the United States Nov. 17. “Our strength and effectiveness will derive…
British Baptist newspaper to cease publication after 156 years
DIDCOT, England (ABP) — The Baptist Times, an award-winning newspaper published weekly for British Baptists for 156 years, will cease both print and digital editions at the end of the year. Bill Johnston, chairman of the Baptist Times board of…
Exploratory talks may lead to formal dialogue between Baptists, Orthodox
FALLS CHURCH, Va. (ABP) — Teams from the Baptist World Alliance and the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople held exploratory talks Oct. 30-Nov. 2 that could lead to formal dialogue between Baptist and Orthodox Christians internationally. BWA General Secretary Neville Callam,…
Baptist Peace Fellowship to re-issue sexuality resource for churches
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (ABP) — The Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America has announced plans to publish an expanded and updated edition of Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth: A Resource for Congregations in Dialogue on Sexual Orientation, a 250-page study…
North Carolina Baptist convention supports state gay-marriage ban
GREENSBORO, N.C. (ABP) — The Baptist State Convention of North Carolina adopted a resolution endorsing a state proposed constitutional amendment that would ban same-sex marriage. Meeting Nov. 7-8 in Greensboro, the convention encouraged member churches to “vigorously organize a strong effort”…
Historic chalice seals relationship between ‘Georgia’ Baptists
ATLANTA (ABP) — A friendship between the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Georgia and Baptists in the Caucasus Republic of Georgia that began with the coincidence of being “Georgians” grew deeper with return of a long-lost communion chalice that carries deep…