By Bob Allen Francis McBeth, an internationally acclaimed composer and conductor and longtime professor of music at Ouachita Baptist University, died Friday, Jan. 6, at age 78. Longtime Baptist journalist Jim Newton, 75, died Jan. 16 in Clinton, Miss., after a battle with…
Raising a lament
By Bill Leonard “Summon the wailing women to come. Send for the women skilled in keening to come quickly and raise a lament for us, that our eyes my run with tears and our eyelids be wet with weeping…. Teach…
A prayer for Sandy Hook
By Miguel De La Torre Oh Lord, my God, how majestic is your name throughout the earth. Your love and mercy abound and endure forever. A young innocent sparrow does not fall without your knowledge. And yet, I again find…
When Christmas isn’t the ‘Most Wonderful Time of the Year’
‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. (Matthew 11:28) Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year! Only it’s not. Not for everyone. Not when he’s still…
Amanda died the other day, but her singing continues
Almost four decades ago while I was serving as pastor of an inner city congregation near a Baptist seminary, I would often have seminary students visit to see if they could obtain some ministry experience as a volunteer with our…
Nigerian Baptist pastors killed in bombing
By Bob Allen The head of the Baptist World Alliance protested continuing violence in Nigeria that recently claimed the lives of two Baptist pastors. BWA General Secretary Neville Callam said Nov. 30 he is “deeply concerned about the continuing attacks…
Chinese Christian leader dead at 97
By Bob Allen K.H. Ting, an Anglican bishop prior to China’s Cultural Revolution who led a “post-denominational” re-emergence of Chinese Christianity in the 1970s and 1980s, died Nov. 22 after several years of poor health. Hailed by some as a…
Baptist dies during Gaza war
By Bob Allen Casualties during eight days of fighting between Israel and the militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip included at least one Baptist. Salem Boulos Sweilem, who attended the Gaza Baptist Church in Gaza City, died Nov. 19…
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…
Longtime pastor John Dunaway dies
By Bob Allen John Dunaway, 79, a longtime Kentucky pastor who helped name the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, died Oct. 18 at his home in Huntsville, Ala., following a long illness. A constitution offered at the inaugural CBF gathering proposed the…
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.,…
Church van crash kills two
By Bob Allen Two people were killed and 12 others injured Sunday morning when a van carrying youth from Cedar Grove Baptist Church in Maryville, Tenn., collided head-on with an SUV while returning from a weekend retreat in Gatlinburg. The…