Monday, June 27, 2016

• W.Va. flooding prompts Southern Baptist response

  by Mike Ebert and Joe Conway, posted Monday, June 27, 2016 (8 years ago)

  

  NAMB file photo

  GREENBRIAR COUNTY, W.Va. (BP) -- Heavy rains on June 23 brought historic flooding to West Va., claiming at least 24 lives and 100 homes. Search and rescue continued on Sunday (June 26), where state and federal officials declared disaster areas.

  Southern Baptist Disaster Relief (SBDR) leaders and volunteers have been working in the wake of the storm to aid survivors and comfort those facing the loss of family and loved ones. Several state SBDR units were mobilized Saturday (June 25). Read More

• Court strikes down abortion provider regulations

  by Tom Strode, posted Monday, June 27, 2016 (8 years ago)

  Today we lament another legal victory for the abortion lobby." -- Russell Moore

  WASHINGTON (BP) -- The U.S. Supreme Court struck down Monday (June 27) a state legislature's effort to hold abortion providers responsible for the protection of women who use their services.

  In a 5-3 opinion, the high court ruled that portions of a Texas law regulating abortion doctors and clinics constitute an "undue burden" on a woman's right to abort her child and are therefore unconstitutional.

  The high court's reversal of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans ... Read More

• FIRST-PERSON: Spiritual leaders & the election

  by Ronnie Floyd, posted Monday, June 27, 2016 (8 years ago)

  Former SBC President Ronnie Floyd embraces the examples of the prophet Daniel and evangelist Billy Graham as influencers of political leaders. The Arkansas pastor writes that he does not intend to sit "on the sideline, critiquing every political candidate and anyone whom God would raise up to influence them." Read More

• Air Force investigating religious liberty claim

  by David Roach, posted Monday, June 27, 2016 (8 years ago)

  

  First Liberty photo

  FAIRFIELD, Calif. (BP) -- The U.S. Air Force is investigating an episode at California's Travis Air Force Base in which a 33-year veteran was forcibly removed from a colleague's private retirement ceremony allegedly because the speech he was delivering was to include a reference to God.

  The episode led Michael Berry of the Texas-based First Liberty Institute to send the Air Force a June 20 letter on behalf of retired Senior Master Sgt. Oscar Rodriguez, the speaker who was forcibly removed. The letter demanded a written admission of ... Read More

• Veteran communicators tell SBC story

  by Margaret Colson, posted Monday, June 27, 2016 (8 years ago)

  

  BP photo taken by Morris Abernathy.

  ST. LOUIS (BP) -- They have been firsthand witnesses of Southern Baptist history in the making. Through their lenses, desktops, and now laptops, they have shared that witness time and time again over the past 30-plus years.

  At the 2016 Southern Baptist Convention's annual meeting in St. Louis, close to 60 communicators -- some Baptist Press staff and others partnering alongside them -- served as the denomination's official media team. Among them were seven communicators who collectively have more than 150 years of experience serving ... Read More

• ANALYSIS: Back alleys & coat hangers

  by Kevin D. Kennedy, posted Monday, June 27, 2016 (8 years ago)

  

  LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP) -- Advocates of abortion have succeeded -- perhaps unknowingly -- in a return, in essence, to "back alley abortions" and "rusty coat hangers."

  Today's Supreme Court decision striking down state regulations for abortion doctors and abortion clinics reflects a striking relationship to the long rhetorical history of the abortion debate.

  According to abortion advocates, if abortions are no longer "safe and legal" (to ... Read More