By Bob Allen A Louisiana man was arrested Jan.11 after police reportedly traced the IP address of a computer used to solicit minors for sexual purposes to his workplace at a Baptist church. Mitchell J. Rousse, 33, of Patterson, La.,…
Former youth pastor, teacher charged with molestation
By Bob Allen Residents of a Birmingham suburb expressed shock at sexual abuse charges filed against a popular school teacher who faced similar allegations, but avoided arrest, 20 years ago while he was youth minister at a Baptist church. Police…
Gilyard hasn’t ruled out starting new church
By Bob Allen A former Baptist pastor just out of prison after serving three years for sexual abuse of children says he hasn’t ruled out the possibility of starting a new church. “I’m not sure — I’m just praying about…
Clergy sex offender released from prison
By Bob Allen An African-American preacher once popular in preaching circuits of the Southern Baptist Convention completed his three-year prison sentence for sex crimes with two girls in his congregation Dec. 28 and is now a registered sex offender on…
Words alone won’t stop Baptist predators
By Christa Brown Penn State has hired former FBI director and federal judge Louis Freeh to investigate gaps in how the university handled allegations of child sex crimes involving former football coach Jerry Sandusky. To assist him in the task,…
Responding to child abuse
By Jim Denison On Nov. 14 the Associated Baptist Press published an essay I wrote on Herman Cain and Joe Paterno. Here’s the background behind my article. I write a cultural commentary for our ministry each weekday morning based on…
Herman Cain and Joe Paterno
By Jim Denison In October, Joe Paterno was the most revered coach in college football. In November, he is unemployed. In October, Herman Cain was the Republican frontrunner. In November, he is fighting for his political life. Paterno was head…
Cancer awareness and hell-wishing
By Christa Brown The American Cancer Society estimates that the year 2011 will bring 230,480 new cases of invasive breast cancer among women in the United States. I’m one of those cases. For me, what was even worse than learning…
The face of hope
By Melody Maxwell What does the face of a child rescued from trafficking look like? The question raced through my mind as our plane taxied down the runway in Kathmandu. I was one of five women on a mission trip…