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(Adapted from the TBC Baptist Briefs video series, First Baptists in America: 17th Century; and Baptists Fight for Religious Liberty in the New United States) In his classic history The Baptist Heritage, Leon McBeth writes that it was in 1639 that Roger Williams founded the first organized Baptist church in America in Providence, Rhode Island. However, Read more . . .

This Friday evening, June 22, at the closing session of this year’s General Assembly in Fort Worth, Daniel Vestal will preach his final sermon as executive coordinator of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. This month, Daniel brings to a close his service as CBF’s longest-tenured executive coordinator. Patrick Anderson, editor of Christian Ethics Today and a Read more . . .

When the Baptist church in Raleigh was organized in 1812 on the second floor of the original state Capitol building, there were 23 charter members—9 white and 14 black. In 1868,  there was a peaceful separation of the two groups when the newly emancipated members established their own congregation. Thus begins the History page of Read more . . .

I read this morning that Dr. Wayne Allen, retired senior pastor of First Baptist Church, Carrollton, had passed away at the age of 82. I never had the privilege of meeting Dr. Allen, but his passing nevertheless moved me. His obituary gives a broader picture of his life, but the opening passage of an article Read more . . .

This month has seen the death of two faithful Baptist leaders. On May 17, Lee Porter, a retired editor at LifeWay Christian Resources who served as recording secretary of the Southern Baptist Convention for 25 years, died at 83. On May 23, Wayne Ward, theology professor at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville for over Read more . . .

My wife has two birthdays. In the Gregorian calendar as commonly observed, her birthday is February 12. However, Joanna is Chinese and was born and raised in Hong Kong. Her Chinese birthday, according to the Chinese calendar, always falls on the day before the Chinese New Year – in other words, Chinese New Year’s Eve. When Read more . . .

I’m the last one to cry that Christians are being treated unfairly or that we are the victims of a “culture war” being waged against the Christian community. On the whole, Christians in America do not suffer persecution for their faith. Disagreement is not persecution! So, regardless of this week’s news out of Nashville (no, for once, Read more . . .

This year, the Currie-Strickland Distinguished Lectures in Christian Ethics, previously a one-day public event, added a new wrinkle: following the Thursday afternoon public lectures, a Friday morning of closer interaction between Howard Payne University students and the lecturers. Breakfast with Ministerial Alliance officers The morning began with a breakfast between the presenters – Suzii Paynter, Welton Read more . . .

On March 29, Howard Payne University hosted the 5th Annual Currie-Strickland Distinguished Lectures in Christian Ethics. One of the highlights was the recognition of the 2012 Currie-Strickland Scholars in Christian Ethics. Derek Hatch, assistant professor of Christian Studies, recognized the following three students as Currie-Strickland Scholars: Adam Hardy, senior from Corpus Christi Adam is pursuing a Read more . . .

On March 29, Howard Payne University hosted the 5th Annual Currie-Strickland Distinguished Lectures in Christian Ethics. C. Welton Gaddy, president of the Interfaith Alliance and pastor of Northminster (Baptist) Church in Monroe, Louisiana, presented a lecture entitled “Preaching in an Election Year.” Gaddy began by stating, “a good minister does the same thing in an election year as in Read more . . .