By Bob Allen A Baptist church in Kentucky has severed ties with its local association of churches, saying doctrinal uniformity has trumped cooperative missions in the Southern Baptist Convention. : “All are welcomed here,” proclaims the Central Baptist Church website….
Former minister pleads guilty to abuse
By Bob Allen The former pastor of a Southern Baptist church in Maryland pleaded guilty Feb. 7 to sexually abusing a girl in his congregation. Joe Nix Ivey, 74, of Walkersville, Md., confessed to a second-degree sex offense in a…
Editor warns of encroaching Calvinism
By Bob Allen A recent Baptist state newspaper editorial warned of a “presumable encroachment” of five-point Calvinism in the Southern Baptist Convention. Christian Index Editor Gerald Harris penned the editorial titled “The Calvinists are here” Feb. 9. Harris noted that…
SBC insurance provider not satisfied with Obama compromise
President Obama’s compromise plan for mandatory coverage of contraceptives does not solve religious liberty concerns for the Southern Baptist Convention’s insurance provider, GuideStone Financial Resources President O.S. Hawkins said in a statement Feb. 10. GuideStone’s medical plan is self-funded, Hawkins…
Land says Obama mandate most anti-Catholic government action in 150 years
By Bob Allen The Southern Baptist Convention’s top public-policy expert said Feb. 4 that President Obama’s health-care mandate covering contraception is the most anti-Catholic action by government since the denial of taxpayer funding to parochial schools. “This ruling by the…
SBC leader criticizes Komen reversal
By Bob Allen The head of the Southern Baptist Convention’s publishing house said Feb. 3 that Susan G. Komen for the Cure’s reversal of a decision to disassociate from Planned Parenthood means that pink-bound Holman Christian Standard Bibles taking up…
Baptist agencies don’t recruit nationals for U.S. missionary service
By Vicki Brown Baptist missionary-sending agencies in the United States say they have no plans to recruit missionaries from other countries to reach out to people groups from those nations that have immigrated to America. While the Southern Baptist Convention…
Study: 2/3 of Americans support renting school buildings to churches
By Bob Allen Two-thirds of Americans believe public schools should rent to churches and other community groups, according to a new study by LifeWay Research. The study by the research arm of the Southern Baptist Convention publisher LifeWay Christian Resources…
Komen denies caving to pressure to defund Planned Parenthood
By Bob Allen The charity behind the well-known pink-ribbon campaign for breast cancer awareness is denying that its decision to cut funding for Planned Parenthood was the result of pressure from conservative groups including the Southern Baptist Convention. The Susan…