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Haitians push church out of comfort zone

Haitians push church out of comfort zone

Nobody in Mount Olive, N.C., was quite prepared for an influx of Haitian immigrants seeking low-paying jobs in the area poultry industry, but the community's First Baptist Church viewed the challenge as an opportunity.

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AU says anti-gay sermon broke tax law

Barry Lynn, executive director of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, wrote the IRS to complain that independent Baptist pastor Charles Worley’s incendiary remarks that went viral on YouTube violated a federal law that says churches that receive non-profit tax benefits cannot take sides in partisan politics.

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Students on flight diverted by bomb scare

Eleven students and staff at a Kentucky Baptist Convention-affiliated school witnessed Tuesday's events on US Airways Flight 787 while returning from a two-week mission trip to Niger.

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Bible verse lands lawmaker in controversy

gipsonBaptist legislator defends citation of Bible verse calling for homosexuals to be put to death in opposition to gay marriage.

  

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Trial nears for accused peeping evangelist

After avoiding prison in two plea bargains in Arkansas, a former Southern Baptist traveling evangelist and youth speaker now faces charges that he recorded inappropriate video of 13 women ages 17-26 without their knowledge or consent.

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ABP rolls out web upgrade

Associated Baptist Press unveils today (May 21) a long-overdue website upgrade to better function as the primary delivery system of the nation’s first and only independent news service created by and for Baptists.

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Lee Porter, longtime SBC officer, dies

Lee PorterLee Porter, a former Southern Baptist Convention leader who worked to ensure the integrity of voting in contentious ballots for the SBC presidency during a tumultuous era in the nation's second-largest religious body, died May 17. He was 83.

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State convention held liable for abuse

A jury found May 17 that the Florida Baptist Convention is liable for failing to do an adequate background check before recruiting and training a former church planter now in prison for molesting a 13-year-old boy.

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Baptist 'Angel' brings light to Juarez

No Mas ViolenciaJose Angel could have left Juarez behind. No more listening to regular reports of violence between rival drug cartels. No more worrying about whether he and his family were safe. He even had a job interview in the United States.

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As Vestal retires, CBF ponders future

The 22nd annual Cooperative Baptist Fellowship General Assembly June 20-23 in Fort Worth, Texas, features a key vote on the 2012 Task Force report and the final sermon from Daniel Vestal as executive coordinator.

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Baptist dean eulogizes Chuck Colson

Chuck ColsonA Baptist seminary dean eulogized former Watergate henchman and Prison Fellowship founder Chuck Colson as a man who was not perfect but forgiven and who never forgot Jesus' words, "I was in prison and you visited me."

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2012 Task Force report now online

The final report of a blue-ribbon task force appointed two years ago to chart a future for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship is now available online, giving Fellowship Baptists a month to digest the 24-page document before it comes to a vote June 21 at the 2102 General Assembly in Fort Worth, Texas.

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Editor recovering from bike wreck

Bill Webb, editor of the Missouri Baptist newspaper Word and Way, is recovering in a hospital from serious injuries sustained May 12 in a cycling accident in Jefferson City, Mo.

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BPFNA seeks conflict transformation

Directors of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America voted recently to authorize funding for conflict transformation training in Sudan/South Sudan and the Philippines and to assist with creation of a Baptist Peace Fellowship of Latin America and the Caribbean.

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Pastor punts sermon over Obama

A Southern Baptist mega church pastor shelved his prepared Mother's Day sermon and instead led 6,000 worshippers in prayer over President Obama's May 9 statement that he supports gay marriage.

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New Voice Media
  • CBF explores new ways to do church

    A period of guided spiritual direction is often recommended for Christians struggling with their enthusiasm for discipleship.

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    Friday, May 11, 2012 New Voice Stories

  • Urban churches bloom where planted

    Urban churches bloom where planted

    Eighty percent of success is showing up, film director Woody Allen once said. Increasing numbers of downtown churches have discovered a high percentage of successful ministry is staying put. 

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    Thursday, May 10, 2012 New Voice Stories

  • Your church has committed to staying put. Now what?

    1 medium bloom clarendonbdg250Choosing to remain in its downtown setting may be one of the most significant decisions a church makes. But that's not the end of the story, according to pastors of several central city congregations, who suggested several next steps.

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    Thursday, May 10, 2012 New Voice Stories

  • Clear identity crucial for downtown churches

    Clarifying its identity is essential for a church committed to remaining in a downtown setting, congregational consultants and pastors of vibrant in-town churches observe.

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    Thursday, May 10, 2012 New Voice Stories