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…
American Baptist named president-elect for National Council of Churches
CHICAGO (ABP) — Roy Medley, general secretary of American Baptist Churches USA, was elected president-elect of the National Council of Churches Nov. 9 at a meeting of the NCC governing board in Chicago. Medley will lead the ecumenical group representing…
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…
Mercer University grants domestic-partner benefits to gays
MACON, Ga. (ABP) — As one university affiliated with the Georgia Baptist Convention captured headlines with a new policy that effectively bans gay employees, another historically Georgia Baptist school announced adoption of a domestic-partner benefit policy providing access to health…
Shorter University adds new faith statements
ROME, Ga. (ABP) — Shorter University has adopted a new faith statement that affirms biblical inerrancy and is requiring faculty and staff to sign a pledge rejecting homosexuality. A new mandatory “personal lifestyle statement” asks employees to agree to “be…
CBF officers narrowing list of nominees for coordinator search committee
TUCKER, Ga. (ABP) — Officers of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship are sorting through some 200 names submitted by rank-and-file CBF supporters to appoint a nine-member search committee to nominate a successor to Executive Coordinator Daniel Vestal, who retires after 15…
Cooperative Baptist Fellowship task force suggests organizational change
TUCKER, Ga. (ABP) — A blue-ribbon task force studying the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s organizational structure suggests a smaller governing board than the current 63-member Coordinating Council, along with creation of two new councils to focus on cooperation and global missions….
U.S. Supreme Court says World Vision can hire only Christians
WASHINGTON (ABP) — The U.S. Supreme Court has upheld a lower-court ruling that the Christian humanitarian organization World Vision can fire employees over religious doctrine. The high court declined without comment Oct. 3 to review an August 2010 ruling by…
White House condemns death sentence for Iranian Christian
WASHINGTON (ABP) — The White House condemned Sept. 29 the conviction of a pastor sentenced to death for converting from Islam to Christianity in Iran. Youcef Nadarkhani, 34, pastor of the Church of Iran, was tried and convicted of apostasy…
Matching church and clergy methods differ by denomination
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) — Matching clergy supply and demand is a chief concern for all denominations, but various church traditions address it in different ways. Hierarchical denominations like Episcopalians, Methodists and Lutherans view matching clergy and congregations as part of…
Southern Baptists consider sale of New Mexico conference center
GLORIETA, N.M. (ABP) — The Southern Baptist Convention is scaling back operations at Glorieta Conference Center and considering sale of the 2,100-acre campus near Santa Fe, N.M. Trustees of LifeWay Christian Resources voted recently to cut back from year-round operations…