By Bob Allen The church of the future will focus less on saving souls and more on following Jesus, author and sociologist Tony Campolo said Jan. 10 at a minister’s conference on the campus of Georgetown College in Kentucky. “The…
Groups challenge NH school-choice plan
By Bob Allen Three civil-liberties organizations filed a lawsuit Jan. 9 challenging New Hampshire’s new school-choice bill that provides scholarships funded by tax credits for underprivileged students to attend private schools. Americans United for Separation of Church and State, the…
Georgia guns-in-church ban upheld
By Bob Allen Georgia’s law banning the carrying of guns in churches will remain on the books after the U.S. Supreme Court’s refusal Jan. 8 to revive the case of a Baptist minister who claimed it burdens his free exercise…
Youth pastor charged with sex crimes
By Bob Allen The youth pastor of a Tennessee Baptist church was arrested Jan. 3 on charges of statutory rape and sexual battery by an authority figure. Joseph Todd Neill, 36, youth director at North Fork Baptist Church in Shelbyville,…
Pastor calls for ‘serious’ gun control
By Bob Allen A Cooperative Baptist Fellowship pastor and activist judge is asking the state of Arkansas to limit gun ownership in the same way it regulates motor vehicles, including licensure and required insurance. Wendell Griffen, pastor of New Millennium…
Hobby Lobby braces for fines
By Bob Allen Baptist-owned Hobby Lobby faces fines up to $1.3 million a day for refusing to obey a law that takes effect Jan. 1 requiring employee health-care plans to provide insurance coverage for all FDA-approved contraceptives, including methods the…
Hobby Lobby braces for fines
By Bob Allen Baptist-owned Hobby Lobby faces fines up to $1.3 million a day for refusing to obey a law that takes effect Jan. 1 requiring employee health care plans to provide insurance coverage for all FDA-approved contraceptives, including methods…
The illnesses of American Christianity
In his important new magnum opus, A Thicker Jesus, my friend Glen Stassen suggests that Christianity is ill in America, but in two very different ways. One form of Christianity is ill, according to Stassen, because it is essentially theologically and…
Westboro: Condemn or ignore them?
By Jeff Brumley Public resentment of Westboro Baptist Church has reached new heights as a petition drive to label it a hate group has surpassed 250,000 signatures. Even some religious leaders have joined in the chorus denouncing the Kansas-based group…
Welcoming the child
By Molly T. Marshall I don’t know about you, but if there is a baby in the room, I want to hold it. I want to feel those little fingers curl around mine, and I love the compact weight of…
2012: A year in review
By Bob Allen Here are some of the top newsmakers of 2012 as reported by ABPnews. Obamacare Southern Baptist Theological Seminary President Albert Mohler observed in January that Health and Human Services regulations, including pregnancy in “preventive services” that insurers…
Faith leaders call for gun reform
By Bob Allen Religious leaders from various faith groups gathered in Washington’s National Cathedral Dec. 21 asking their congregations to lobby Congress for gun control and mental health reforms in the wake of recent school shootings in Newtown, Conn. Curtis…