By Tom Strode Baptist Press WASHINGTON — The continued drop in the number, rate and ratio of abortions in the United States is a cause for celebration but also for further efforts to protect children and assist women in need, Southern Baptist pro-life advocates say. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported Nov. 23 the total, rate and ratio of abortions in 2015 — the latest year for which

By Art Toalston Baptist Press NASHVILLE — W.C. Fields, a forerunner in denominational journalism as vice president for public relations for the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee from 1959-1987, died Monday (Dec. 3) in Nashville at age 96. As an Executive Committee vice president, Fields was the SBC’s press representative and director of Baptist Press, the convention’s news service. He also was editor of the Executive Committee’s former Baptist Program magazine

DEAD SEA, Israel — The Dead Sea has been receding for decades, with some experts predicting its total demise by 2050. But a $1.5 billion plan to resurrect the biblically prominent sea is nearing fruition, NBC News reported Nov. 29. Meetings are expected within weeks to finalize the plan considered for two decades, NBC reported, to build a desalination facility in Jordan to essentially remove salty brine from the Red

By David Roach Baptist Press DURHAM, N.C. — Southern Baptist Convention President J.D. Greear thinks Southern Baptists can exceed their $160 million goal for this year’s Lottie Moon Christmas Offering (LMCO) for International Missions. So he’s offering a lighthearted incentive to encourage a challenge goal of $170 million. If the 2018-19 LMCO hits that mark, Greear will perform a stunt suggested by Southern Baptists on social media, he announced Nov.

By Tom Strode Baptist Press WASHINGTON — Voters returned control of the U.S. House of Representatives to the Democratic Party Tuesday (Nov. 6) but seemed to have strengthened the Republican Party’s hold on the Senate and on its ability to confirm conservative Supreme Court justices and federal judges. Meanwhile, at least two Southern Baptists appear to have won first-time seats in Congress, and two states approved pro-life measures among a host

ABORTION, MARIJUANA, GAMBLING WIN, LOSE IN STATES By Diana Chandler Baptist Press NASHVILLE — Abortion rights, marijuana use and legalized gambling drew mixed results on state ballots across the U.S. Nov. 6. Alabama voters authorized display of the Ten Commandments in public places in a measure that prohibits the use of public funding to support challenges to the state constitutional amendment in court. The amendment, which requires displays to comply