AUSTIN, Texas (ABP) — A group of Texas clergy, including some Baptist pastors, is speaking out against a proposed resolution that a state governing board may use to embroil itself yet again in the nation’s culture wars – this time…
Kentucky pastor recommended as new NAMB president
ALPHARETTA, Ga. (ABP) — The pastor of one of the Southern Baptist Convention’s most visible leaders will be recommended as the new head of the denomination’s North American Mission Board. Kevin Ezell, pastor of Highview Baptist Church in Louisville, Ky.,…
Donations not keeping pace with Pakistan relief needs, say Baptists
ATLANTA (ABP) — Baptist organizations in the United States and elsewhere are continuing their efforts to provide relief after catastrophic flooding in Pakistan — but funds are being stretched to the limit by the disaster’s massive scale. According to estimates…
Two prominent Baptist thinkers criticize Beck’s ‘Restoring Honor’ rally
WASHINGTON (ABP) — When popular conservative radio and TV personality Glenn Beck called for “revival” on the National Mall Aug. 28, he was making a hash of both patriotism and faith, according to published comments by a pair of prominent…
Poll: Confusion about Obama’s faith, opposition to church politicking
WASHINGTON (ABP) — A new poll released by the Pew Research Center Aug. 19 shows a sharp uptick in the percentage of Americans who are confused about President Obama’s faith. It also shows that a slight majority of Americans don’t…
ANALYSIS: Legal status of mosque project clear; pluralism’s status not
WASHINGTON (ABP) — One thing is settled in the controversy over building an Islamic cultural center near the former World Trade Center site in New York: There is no legal impediment to the facility rising there. A sign at a…
Hispanic evangelicals urge GOP not to alienate Latinos over immigration
WASHINGTON (ABP) — Leaders of the nation’s largest Hispanic evangelical organization warned leaders of the Republican Party Aug. 17 that their increasingly strident rhetoric on immigration puts the party at risk of losing an entire generation of Latino voters. “We…
Baptists respond to massive Pakistan flooding that displaced 14 million
ISLAMABAD, Pakisan (ABP) — Baptists around the globe are responding to the floods that have afflicted Pakistan for two weeks, sending money and resources in the aftermath of what could become the nation’s biggest natural disaster in modern times. According…
Hymn Society honors three Baptists for lifetime contributions to music
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (ABP) — A group dedicated to hymnology and hymnody in North America has honored three Baptist musicians for their lifetime achievements in the field of church music. The Hymn Society in the United States and Canada named David…
Baptists react to marriage ruling, but religious freedom not impacted
WASHINGTON (ABP) — A federal judge’s Aug. 4 ruling declaring unconstitutional a California ban on same-sex marriage is either disastrous or a monumental step forward, depending on which Baptist leader you ask. But, according to church-state experts, it doesn’t directly…
Ground Zero controversy part of rise in anti-Islamic sentiment, experts say
WASHINGTON (ABP) — The most recent prominent spat in the United States over building a new Islamic facility — the so-called “Ground Zero mosque” in New York — is indicative of a broader movement that is becoming increasingly suspicious of…
Poverty-medicine clinic preaches the gospel of fitness
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (ABP) — Fitness can, literally, be a life-and-death issue for people in underprivileged communities. So a Christian medical ministry in one of the nation’s poorest big cities is preaching the gospel of fitness through local churches. Minister and…