By Bob Allen Buryl Red, a renowned composer, conductor, producer and arranger known around the world as musical director of The CenturyMen and composer of the 1972 classic Celebrate Life, died April 1 after a battle with cancer. A graduate…
Duke McCall dies
By Bob Allen Duke McCall, a denominational leader known by Baptists worldwide for a ministry that spanned four decades, died April 2 at age 98. Chris Caldwell, pastor of Broadway Baptist Church in Louisville, Ky., said McCall died this morning…
The perils of Easter preaching
By Jeff Brumley Regardless of denomination, congregational makeup or worship style, crafting a fresh and compelling Easter sermon, year and year out, can be a major challenge for many pastors. But the solution lies in the holiday itself, said Brett…
Former Baptist pastor indicted
By Bob Allen A 71-year-old former Southern Baptist minister has been indicted by a grand jury in northern Mississippi on 18 felony counts of child sexual abuse. The Democrat newspaper in Senatobia, Miss., reported March 26 that Larry Gene Singleton,…
Students find plenty to do in Haiti
By Jeff Brumley College student Shelby Johnson missed the March 3 announcement that the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship was shifting its work in Haiti from disaster response to long-term projects, like community health and economic development. But the English and Spanish double…
Former youth minister pleads guilty
By Bob Allen A former youth minister at a Southern Baptist church in Maryland pleaded guilty March 20 to sexually abusing a 15-year-old girl attending the congregation’s vacation Bible school. Walter Harrison Yocum, 35, pleaded guilty to a single count…
Longtime denominational worker dies
By Bob Allen Quentin Lockwood, 90, a longtime administrator with the SBC Home Mission Board, died March 20. He led the agency’s rural/urban department in an era marked by expansion into new work areas that transformed the Southern Baptist Convention…
Activist pastor Gordon Cosby dies
By Robert Dilday Gordon Cosby, the founder of the Church of the Saviour in Washington and a pioneering Christian activist whose ministry foreshadowed both the missional and emergent church movements, died March 20 at 95. Cosby died at Christ House,…
Baptists hopeful about new pope
By Jeff Brumley Baptists reacting to this week’s installation of Pope Francis voiced hope about his record for improving relations between Catholics and Protestants, his concern for the poor and the face he puts on the broader Christian community for non-believers. Alan Rudnick, pastor…