Fla. Baptists to brave Ida winds & rain
5:45
PENSACOLA, Fla. (BP)--When Hurricane Ida was downgraded to Tropical Storm Ida on Monday morning, the National Hurricane Center's announcement left residents of coastal Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida a bit...
Liberty students swing election, get lesson in democracy
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LYNCHBURG, Va. (BP)--If any Liberty University students wondered if their vote could make a difference on Election Day, they now know the answer.With on-campus residents voting in a general election only for the second...
BERLIN WALL RETROSPECTIVE: One down. One to go.
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EVANSTON, Ill. (BP)--For my generation, the fall of the Berlin Wall was astonishing, even stupefying. We had lived our lives in the shadow of communism. In the two years before I was born, Winston Churchill had...
BERLIN WALL RETROSPECTIVE: The wall became a door
5:45
RICHMOND, Va. (BP)--I clearly remember watching the evening news, spellbound as jubilant Berliners danced upon the Berlin Wall the night of Nov. 9, 1989. East Berliners were flowing through Brandenburg Gate, and a news...
Gov. urges community to mutual support
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KILLEEN, Texas (BP)--Texas Gov. Rick Perry called for mutual support among soldiers at Fort Hood and residents in Killeen, Texas, in his remarks to a community memorial service Sunday night at First Baptist...
Fort Hood-area churches offer refuge
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KILLEEN, Texas (BP)--A couple of Southern Baptist congregations near Fort Hood served as rallying places for the community and offered messages of hope Nov. 8 following a shooting on a military post that left 12...
BERLIN WALL RETROSPECTIVE: True freedom
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!P>KANSAS CITY, Mo. (BP)--The memory is clear in my mind. I was standing looking at the Berlin Wall. It was a cold January night in 1977. Snow was everywhere, but the wall dominated the foreground of the landscape....
Chaplains at Fort Hood face range of needs
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FORT HOOD, Texas (BP)--Army chaplains working at Fort Hood have been in near perpetual motion since Thursday's deadly shootings, providing immediate support to the wounded at area hospitals and to first responders,...
Pro-lifers win major victory in House
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WASHINGTON (BP)--Pro-lifers won a major victory Saturday night when an amendment that would prohibit the health care bill from covering or funding abortion passed, 240-194.The amendment passed minutes before the health...
In Russia, restricted missionary activity looms under proposed law
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MOSCOW (BP)--New legislation being considered by Russian lawmakers could drastically restrict missions activity if made into law. Restrictions could include requiring missionaries and Russian Christians to obtain...
Another attack leaves US Muslims fearing backlash
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As word spread that a gunman had opened fire at Fort Hood leaving a trail of carnage, a chilling realization swept across the U.S. Muslim community: He has an Islamic name. From a professor who just testified in...
House leaders to allow pro-life floor vote
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POSTED 10 a.m., Saturday, Nov. 7, 2009.WASHINGTON (BP)--Pro-lifers won a major victory Friday evening when House Democratic leaders announced they would allow a floor vote on a health care bill amendment Saturday that...
5 reasons 'gay marriage' lost in Maine
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!P>AUGUSTA, Maine (BP)--If supporters of traditional marriage had their druthers, conservative writer Maggie Gallagher says, they would have picked South Carolina, and not Maine, to try and win on the issue of "gay...
FIRST-PERSON: They can't blame the Christians anymore
5:30
ALEXANDRIA, La. (BP)--It has been put to a vote in some shape, form or fashion in 31 states. Each and every time it has failed. Its most recent defeat came in Maine. The "it" in question is "homosexual marriage."On Nov....
FIRST-PERSON: An American hero
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NEW YORK CITY (BP)--It seemed like a very normal afternoon in Lyman, S.C., a small southern town in upstate; the closest metropolis was Spartanburg, which wasn't all that much of a metropolis. Lyman was a place where...
Ark. Baptists focus on 'Generation Now'
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BENTON, Ark. (BP)--Exactly 777 messengers attended the 156th annual meeting of the Arkansas Baptist State Convention at First Baptist Church in Benton Nov. 3-4, electing new ABSC officers, adopting a $21.5 million 2010...
CULTURE DIGEST: 3-day 'Esther Fast' planned
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--An 81-year-old Georgia woman is calling on believers nationwide to participate in the "Esther Fast to Pray for Our Nation" Dec. 1-3, asking God for forgiveness and mercy and for His intervention...
In India, he shares Gospel despite dangers
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EDITOR'S NOTE: The Lottie Moon Christmas Offering supplements Cooperative Program giving to support more than 5,600 Southern Baptist missionaries as they share the Gospel overseas. This year's offering goal is $175...
Maine Question 1: How it prevailed
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AUGUSTA, Maine (BP)--If supporters of traditional marriage had their druthers, conservative writer Maggie Gallagher says, they would have picked South Carolina, and not Maine, to try and win on the issue of "gay...
Health care bill's fate still uncertain
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WASHINGTON (BP)--The Southern Baptist Convention's ethics entity urged members of Congress on the eve of a possible vote on health care reform to oppose the controversial bill that would authorize government funding of...
After shooting, chaplains at Fort Hood quickly mobilize
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FORT HOOD, Texas (BP)--About a dozen Southern Baptist chaplains stationed at Fort Hood in central Texas began ministering in the aftermath of a shooting on post Nov. 5 that has left 13 people dead and 30 wounded.Also in...
Correction: Rick Warren-Reader's Digest story
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In a Nov. 4 story about the end of a publishing partnership between pastor Rick Warren and Reader's Digest, The Associated Press erroneously reported that subscriptions to the Purpose Driven Connection totaled 2,500 to...
Mosques step up security after Fort Hood rampage
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U.S. mosques fearful of a backlash after the shooting rampage at Fort Hood, Texas are stepping up security. The man accused of opening fire at Fort Hood, Texas in a rampage that left 13 people dead and dozens wounded...
FIRST-PERSON: Make the most of your time
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CHARLESTON, S.C. (BP)--1. 24. 1440. 7. 168. 28. 30. 31. 744. 12. 365. 8760. Alone, these numbers are interesting symbols on the page. Separately, you might recognize a few of them. Together they represent the passing of...
LifeWay stores to collect Christmas shoe boxes
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--LifeWay Christian Stores will hold an Operation Christmas Child collection day Saturday, Nov. 14, for gift-filled shoe boxes to be distributed in 100-plus countries.Since 2003, LifeWay has taken...
TRUSTEES: GuideStone up 31% March-Sept.
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DALLAS (BP)--GuideStone Financial Resources President O.S. Hawkins updated trustees on the first three quarters of 2009, including how the GuideStone staff has demonstrated perspective amid one of the greatest economic...
N.M. Baptists retire debt, seek the lost
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GLORIETA, N.M. (BP)--Nearly 400 Baptists from across the Land of Enchantment braved a wintry mix of cold and snow to celebrate the retirement of the Baptist Convention of New Mexico's indebtedness and to commit to...
Indonesians responsive to quake relief
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WEST SUMATRA, Indonesia (BP)--"And so, this is what He is up to on our island ... taking a tragedy and opening up a door for seeds to be planted," a Christian worker in Indonesia wrote following the magnitude 7.6...
Baltimore council targets pregnancy centers
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!P>BALTIMORE, Md. (BP)--Most of the members of the Baltimore (Md.) City Council are promoting a measure that would require pregnancy help centers to post a sign saying they do not provide abortions or...
Pro-lifers: Amendment to health-care bill 'phony'
5:45
WASHINGTON (BP)--The U.S. House of Representatives appears poised to vote on health-care legislation that includes a so-called pro-life compromise opponents of abortion say is bogus.The House may vote as early as...
Rick Warren, Reader's Digest part ways on project
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A joint publishing venture between influential pastor Rick Warren and Reader's Digest magazine has collapsed less than a year after it was announced with great fanfare. The multimedia project, called the Purpose Driven...
Rick Warren, Reader's Digest part ways on project
8:44
A joint publishing venture between influential pastor Rick Warren and Reader's Digest magazine has collapsed less than a year after it was announced with great fanfare. The multimedia project, called the Purpose Driven...
FIRST-PERSON: Christian comedian does more than tell jokes
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KANSAS CITY, Kan. (BP)--"Years ago in a crowded Grand Rapids, Michigan movie theater, the projector malfunctioned," the promotional material reads. "The house lights came on, and acting on a dare, a young Black comedian...
James Dobson resigns radio post
4:30
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (BP)--James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, has announced his intention to step down from his role as host of the ministry's flagship radio broadcast at the end of February.Focus on the...
Mo. Baptists pare budget; re-elect officers
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RAYTOWN, Mo. (BP)--Messengers approved a reduced budget and, in a departure from tradition dating back beyond three decades, re-elected an incumbent president during the 175th Missouri Baptist Convention annual meeting,...
Festivals of Marriage hit 30th anniversary
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--It's been 30 years.The Festivals of Marriage sponsored by LifeWay Christian Resources began with a single event in 1979 at Ridgecrest Conference Center near Asheville, N.C. -- subsequently...
Casino gambling plan passes in Ohio, 53-47
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COLUMBUS (BP)--By a 53-47 margin, voters in Ohio approved a ballot initiative Nov. 3 to allow casino gambling in Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati and Toledo."Let's start lighting it up like Las Vegas," Dan Gilbert, owner...
Marijuana access expanded in Maine
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AUGUSTA, Maine (BP)--Voters in Maine overwhelmingly approved a measure to allow nonprofit organizations to provide medical marijuana to patients Nov. 3, making Maine the third state to establish dispensaries and the...
Land: GOP wins send reminder to D.C.
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WASHINGTON (BP)--Republicans won the governorships of New Jersey and Virginia Nov. 3, only a year after then-Sen. Barack Obama swept both states on his way to the White House.The GOP's Chris Christie and Robert...
Maine voters stun pundits, reject 'gay marriage' law
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AUGUSTA, Maine (BP)--Supporters of traditional marriage in Maine shocked the political world and even some of their own supporters Nov. 3, overcoming a slew of obstacles to overturn a new law that had legalized "gay...
Religion News in Brief
11:29
An Ohio village's Christmas parade has been canceled amid concerns over possible lawsuits, expected protests and logistical problems. Amelia Mayor Leroy Ellington said the Amelia Business Association that sponsored the...
Gone to the dogs: LA church starts pet service
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When the Rev. Tom Eggebeen took over as interim pastor at Covenant Presbyterian Church three years ago, he looked around and knew it needed a jump start. Most of his worshippers, though devoted, were in their 60s,...
FIRST-PERSON: Why some are cast out of the Kingdom
4:15
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)--One of the more humbling experiences from my days in the corporate world was being told that my reserved seat on the company jet was revoked at the last minute to make room for a late-arriving...
'Science and Faith: Friends or Foes?'
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FORT WORTH, Texas (BP)--"Science and Faith: Friends or Foes?" was the theme of a conference sponsored by the Discovery Institute's Center for Science and Culture and hosted by Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary...
Gaming interests joust over casinos in Ohio
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (BP)--Ohioans are voting Tuesday on a casino gambling proposal opposed not only by traditional-values groups but also other gambling interests.The ballot initiative is the fifth brought to voters in the...
Church personalizes missions for members
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NAPLES, Fla. (BP)--In what he hopes will be a "game-changer in terms of the Cooperative Program and our whole relationship with missions," Hayes Wicker has led First Baptist Church in Naples, Fla., to launch the "Great...
Chinese lawyers face govt. oppression
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WASHINGTON (BP)--Religious freedom activists in China are not the only ones needing a lawyer; their lawyers also are being attacked by the government."They are the defenders for the defenseless and a voice to the...
Abortion clinic director witnesses ultrasound, quits
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BRYAN, Texas (BP)--The director of a Planned Parenthood clinic in southeast Texas quit her job and is supporting a pro-life organization after watching an ultrasound of an abortion.Abby Johnson, 29, worked at the...
FIRST-PERSON: Keeping the Body healthy: Supporting CP
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FORT TOTTEN, N.D. (BP)--Coupons in hand, I race through the grocery store attempting to find the most nutritious foods for the least amount of money. Today's economic climate pushes me to pinch every penny while the...
FIRST-PERSON: Stop traffic with a live nativity scene
5:30
INDIANAPOLIS (BP)--Picture this: a simple, well-lit stable stands visibly on your church lawn. A lighted sign says "Turn here for free live nativity." Music is playing and costumed nativity characters create a...