By Bob Allen A former Southern Baptist music minister charged with molesting five boys in the 1980s turned down a plea bargain Nov. 26 and now is scheduled to stand trial Jan. 28. That depends, however, on the outcome of…
Baptist university reports theft
By Bob Allen A Missouri Baptist University employee has been charged with embezzling about $107,000 since being promoted to the university controller’s position in 2009. St. Louis County prosecutors charged 48-year-old Melinda Okai of O’Fallon, Mo., with theft of more…
Former youth pastor arrested
By Bob Allen A Southern Baptist pastor in Oklahoma second-guessed himself after the arrest of his former youth pastor on eight counts of sexual abuse of a minor. Jeff Self, pastor of First Baptist Church in Coalgate, Okla., told CBS…
Teen ordered to church for manslaughter
By Bob Allen An Oklahoma district court judge sparked national attention after sentencing a teenager to attend church for 10 years as a condition for avoiding prison after pleading guilty to manslaughter. Muskogee Judge Mike Norman gave 17-year-old Tyler Alred…
Online security of the believer
By Bob Allen All Christians confess that Jesus is Lord, but he’s a poor choice for a computer password, according to an annual listing of passwords on the Internet most prone to hacking. “Jesus” for the first time made the…
SUV driver charged in church van crash
By Bob Allen The driver of an SUV that crashed into a church van killing two people in east Tennessee Sept. 16 has been indicted on 36 counts including vehicular homicide and drug possession. Police believe Tyler Schaeffer, 21, of…
Former minister fights molestation charge
By Bob Allen A former Southern Baptist music minister is asking a Mississippi judge to dismiss an eight-count indictment charging him with sex crimes in the 1980s, claiming the allegations are too old to be prosecuted. Lawyers for John Langworthy,…
Radio host: evangelicals ignoring abuse
By Bob Allen A Christian radio host says it’s time for evangelical churches to wake up to an “epidemic” of sexual abuse of children going on in their midst. “I don’t know how long evangelicalism can ignore this problem,” host…
Church scrutinized after pastor’s arrest
By Bob Allen Missouri Baptist Convention officials are watching a member church whose pastor was arrested recently on sexual abuse charges a year after his previous acquittal of child molestation. Travis Smith, 42, of California, Mo., appeared for arraignment Oct….
Man found guilty of killing Texas pastor
By Bob Allen Two Baptist churches in Texas gained some closure Oct. 8 with a conviction in the murder of a 28-year-old mission pastor committed during a church robbery in March 2011. A Tarrant County jury deliberated about an hour…
Arkansas CBF mourns student’s murder
By Bob Allen The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Arkansas joined the campus community of a historically African-American college in Little Rock in mourning the senseless murder of a student Sept. 27. Derek Olivier, 19, a freshman from New Iberia, La.,…
Pastor spared abuse trial
By Bob Allen A Baptist preacher arrested in May will not stand trial for sexual assault of a child after a Texas grand jury found insufficient evidence to prosecute. The Ennis Daily News reported Sept. 26 that an Ellis County…