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…
Once more, Georgia Baptists poised to cut ties to church with woman pastor
ATLANTA (ABP) — For the second straight year, the Georgia Baptist Convention is poised to cut ties with a church over the issue of women in ministry. Graham Walker, co-pastor of Druid Hills Baptist Church in Atlanta, said March 18…
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…
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…