By Jeff Brumley A Baptist preacher in Georgia said months of exposure to television and online news reports about Pope Francis I just finally got to him. And that’s a good thing, said Barrett Owen, pastor of National Heights Baptist…
Children’s minister charged with abuse
By Bob Allen An associate pastor at a Southern Baptist church in Muscle Shoals, Ala., is being held on a more than $1 million bond after reportedly telling police he sexually abused so many children that he could not remember…
Peeping preacher’s prison sentence stands
By Bob Allen A Mississippi judge on Wednesday refused to reduce a 10-year prison sentence he handed down to a former Southern Baptist traveling evangelist and popular youth speaker convicted of video voyeurism in 2012. “I think basically I got…
Trial underway in lawsuit over slain pastor
By Bob Allen Attorneys representing a widow whose pastor husband was slain in a botched drug sting and the former police officer who fired the fatal shot made opening statements in a civil trial in northern Georgia Feb. 3. The…
McAfee prof brings Baptist insights to Iranian talks
By Jeff Brumley A lot of things surprised McAfee School of Theology’s Robert Nash during an academic delegation to Tehran Jan. 21-23. Surprises included being served name-brand American soda, feeling safer there than some places in the United States, and…
Prominent CBF pastor diagnosed with cancer
By Bob Allen Guy Sayles, pastor of First Baptist Church in Asheville, N.C., has been diagnosed with cancer, he told members of the high-profile Cooperative Baptist Fellowship-affiliated congregation Feb. 2. “Over the last week or so, following an array of…
Ethicist begins new column on faith, politics and culture
By ABPnews/Herald Staff A Baptist ethicist who has written widely on Christianity and culture will return to the ranks of columnists for ABPnews/Herald Feb. 4, in a collaboration designed to stimulate more interactive engagement between readers and opinion writers. David…
From Baptist preacher to Episcopal priest
By Jeff Brumley Spiritually and professionally, Malcolm Marler’s transition from Baptist preacher to Episcopal priest was neither easy nor quick. It’s taken time to adjust to everything from saying formed prayers and making the sign of the Cross to wearing…
U.S. officials urge release of Christian imprisoned by N. Korea
By Jeff Brumley U.S. political events and officials this week have refocused attention on the plight of Kenneth Bae, the American Christian missionary sentenced to 15 years of hard labor in North Korea. In a Tuesday meeting with Bae’s family,…