By Bob Allen A death-row prisoner whose March 2 execution was postponed due to problems with the drugs to be used for her lethal injection has filed a federal lawsuit claiming violation of her constitutional right against punishments that are…
Longtime McAfee professor announces retirement
By Bob Allen Peter Rhea Jones, a New Testament scholar and pastor known for his lifelong study of the parables, has announced plans to retire from Mercer University’s McAfee School of Theology at the end of July. Jones, the J….
Big lessons for Creflo Dollar — and the church — in a $65M jet
By Jeff Brumley Many were angered by prosperity gospel guru Creflo Dollar’s recent online campaign to raise $65 million to buy himself a new private jet — in the name of spreading the gospel around the world. Others considered the source…
Baptist women say faith deepened as pregnant ministers
By Jeff Brumley The first time around as a pregnant Baptist minister, Stacy Cochran Nowell harbored worries few other moms-to-be are likely to share. Chief among them was that older church members might object to the sight of an expectant…
Two SBC leaders say Fred Craddock undermined ‘authoritative’ preaching
By Bob Allen A Southern Baptist seminary professor says Fred Craddock, one of the most influential preachers in the last half century who died March 7 at age 86, was “dead wrong” in his fundamental assertion that good preaching should…
Rwandan Baptist to be honored for dedication to peace, reconciliation
By Eron Henry Corneille Gato Munyamasoko, a Rwandan Baptist who has dedicated his life to peace and reconciliation and fighting the stigma associated with HIV and AIDS, will receive the 2015 Baptist World Alliance Congress Quinquennial Human Rights Award, the…
Minister trades prison garb for orange T-shirt to help ex-cons find work
By Jeff Brumley Customers and staff took notice when a guy wearing an orange prison jump suit strolled into an Italian restaurant in Waco, Texas, for takeout on the final day of Lent 2014. “It was weird to me so…
No manuscripts for Baptist pastor who sketches and colors sermon notes
By Jeff Brumley John Jay Alvaro uses a variety of terms to describe the way he prepares his sermons at Spring Creek Baptist Church in Oklahoma City. And “outline” isn’t one of them. “Manuscript” doesn’t make the list, either. Instead,…
Todd Still named Truett Seminary dean
By Ken Camp New Testament scholar Todd Still has been named dean of Baylor University’s Truett Theological Seminary, effective June 1. Still, 49, will become the fifth dean of the Waco, Texas, seminary, where he has served on the faculty…