The continued unrest in Ferguson, MO which have featured protests, violence, and racial tensions, have the country waiting for new news of peace. The conflict revolves around Michael Brown’s murder by the hands of a police officer. Conflicting information from…
Pastor, ethicist urge Southern Baptists to marry younger
By Bob Allen A Southern Baptist pastor and an expert on moral policy issues made national headlines recently by suggesting that parents who encourage their adult children to delay marriage for educational and financial reasons unwittingly send a message that…
BJC breaks down Hobby Lobby ruling
By Bob Allen Two Baptist experts in religious liberty law say the U.S. Supreme Court’s interpretation of a 1993 federal law intended to bolster religious freedom in the recent Hobby Lobby decision could set a precedent for future rulings applying…
St. Louis pastor says racial violence not justified, but anger is
By Bob Allen A white Baptist pastor in St. Louis says he cannot condone rioting in nearby Ferguson, Mo., but he understands the anger about a black teenager killed by police Aug. 9. On Wednesday police used teargas to disperse…
Evangelical child molester sentenced to 40 years
By Bob Allen A former youth worker convicted of sexually abusing boys in the 1980s at a Sovereign Grace Ministries church in Maryland was sentenced Aug. 14 to 40 years in prison. Nathaniel Morales, 56, was found guilty in May…
Tennessee judge bucks string of rulings on same-sex marriage
By Bob Allen For the first time in over a year, a judge in Tennessee ruled recently that a state does not have to accept as valid a same-sex marriage performed legally in another state. The Aug. 5 ruling in…
Groups say state’s gay-marriage ban establishes religion
By Bob Allen Two dozen religious and public policy groups filed a legal brief Aug. 11 arguing that Wisconsin’s ban on same-sex marriage violates the constitutionally mandated separation of church and state. Groups including Americans United for Separation of Church…
Communities, borders, and “Persons of Peace”
“We pray and walk through our community, looking for persons of peace with whom we can connect.” “Persons of Peace.” That’s a term I’ve heard multiple times during my summer sabbatical study of how churches are engaging in Christian community…
Obamacare changes the way faith-based hospitals deliver care
By Bob Allen Whether most Americans like it or not, the Affordable Care Act — also known as Obamacare — is now the law, and faith-based health care providers say it’s changing the way hospitals view patient care. A new…
Texas shelter plans cancelled, but needs continue along border
By Ken Camp A federal agency has cancelled plans to provide shelters in Dallas for unaccompanied children who entered the United States from Central America, but family ministries to immigrants continue in Laredo and McAllen on the Texas border. Judge…
Court considers gay marriage arguments affecting four states
By Bob Allen A gay Baptist minister suing for the right to marry his partner in their home state of Kentucky said he was encouraged after attending yesterday’s hearing at a federal courthouse in Cincinnati challenging bans on same-sex marriage…
Weighing in on border crisis, SBC president says Jesus was an immigrant
By Bob Allen The president of the Southern Baptist Convention says Jesus would be sympathetic to the plight of undocumented children flocking to the southern U.S. border, because as a child he also lived as an immigrant. Ronnie Floyd, senior…