By Diana Chandler Baptist Press HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. — A couple (names withheld by request) so appreciated the gospel call at Christ Community Church in Huntersville, N.C., on Sept. 8 that they hugged pastor Ronnie Parrott and cried after their baptisms moments later. “They were in tears and grateful that we cared enough about them to give them that opportunity to know Christ, to know the true gospel and then to

By Gary D. Myers Baptist Press TEL HADID, Israel — Nestled between accounts of Israel’s defeat at the hands of the Assyrian army and the rise of Hezekiah’s kingship in Judea, the importance of 2 Kings 17:24-40 can be easy to overlook. The verses speak of the people groups the Assyrians sent to the region of Samaria in Israel after the fall of the Northern Kingdom and the deportation of

By Aaron Earls Baptist Press NASHVILLE — What began as midweek prayer meetings in the 18th century have become an accepted part of congregational life in the vast majority of Protestant churches in America, a study released Tuesday (Sept. 10) shows. Nine in 10 Protestant pastors say they have some type of activity on Wednesday night, according to LifeWay Research’s survey. Only 10 percent say they have no regular events

Baptist Press staff reports NASHVILLE — Jonathan P. Howe has been named vice president of communications for the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee effective Sept. 5. Officers of the Executive Committee approved Howe upon recommendation of EC President Ronnie Floyd during an Aug. 28 conference call. Howe, of Franklin, Tenn., will oversee all SBC Executive Committee communications including SBC.net, SBC LIFE, Baptist Press, social media initiatives and other media and

By Tom Strode Baptist Press WASHINGTON — Non-discrimination protections in federal workplace law do not cover “sexual orientation” or “gender identity,” the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission and other faith-based organizations have told the U.S. Supreme Court. The ERLC signed onto friend-of-the-court briefs filed Aug. 23 by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) that urge the high court to rule that the classification “sex” in Title VII

By BP staff SHERMAN, Texas — Paige Patterson, former president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, has denied allegations of negligence, violation of privacy and liability in a federal court lawsuit filed by a former seminary student. In a court document filed Aug. 26, Patterson responded to the lawsuit in which he is a co-defendant with Southwestern in allegations filed in March, and amended in May, by a student identified by

By Aaron Wilson LifeWay Christian Resources NASHVILLE — LifeWay trustees, employees and special guests gathered at the organization’s headquarters on Monday to celebrate the inauguration of Ben Mandrell as the 10th president of LifeWay Christian Resources. On a day marked with heavy rain and overcast skies, Mandrell forecasted a bright future for the organization—not just in fiscal growth, but in the spiritual impact LifeWay will continue to make throughout the

By Erin Roach Baptist Press RIDGECREST, N.C. — The Southern Baptist Conference of the Deaf (SBCD) gathered for their 71st annual meeting and elected a woman president for the third time in their history as they rallied around the theme “Good News 24/7” from Mark 16:15. More than 130 people from 20 states, Japan, Mexico and Puerto Rico attended the meeting July 15-19 at Ridgecrest Conference Center in Ridgecrest, N.C.,