Tammi Reed Ledbetter

NASHVILLE (BP) –- The sanctity of human life and defense of religious liberty remained the most often addressed concerns among many state Baptist conventions during their annual meetings as messengers penned resolutions endorsed by fellow Southern Baptists. Resolutions calling for an end to the funding of Planned Parenthood gained support in eight state Baptist conventions this year, with others declaring the sanctity of human life. ...

NASHVILLE (BP) -- Twenty-three state conventions voted to increase the portion of Cooperative Program receipts being forwarded to Southern Baptist Convention missions and ministries in the coming year, continuing a trend inspired by passage of the Great Commission Task Force recommendations five years ago. This year, Florida Baptists made the largest shift, moving from 41 to 51 percent allocated to SBC causes.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (BP) -- Southern Baptist Convention President Ronnie Floyd called for pastoral leadership in the nation's largest Protestant denomination to seize a "Bonhoeffer moment" by refusing to be silent in the face of persecution, to hold on to the Word of God, take heart and be encouraged. "The lostness has never been greater in our dangerous and hopeless world," Floyd, pastor of Cross Church in northwest Arkansas, said in his president's message to the SBC annual meeting June 16 in Columbus, Ohio.

NASHVILLE (BP) -- Twenty-three state conventions have increased the portion of Cooperative Program receipts forwarded to Southern Baptist Convention missions and ministries in moving toward the goal of a 50/50 allocation between in-state and SBC causes, continuing an upward trend spanning several years.

NASHVILLE (BP) -- Still alarmed by subpoenas of sermons and correspondence for pastors who opposed the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance, resolutions on religious liberty and free speech were passed in more than a dozen state Baptist convention meetings this fall.

BALTIMORE (BP) -- When a pastor's wife asks her husband, "How can I help you?" the answer may not be what she expects. But Christine Hoover says a simple question can open the door to conversation that brings clarity to the blurred lines between ministry and a couple's personal life together.

BALTIMORE (BP) -- Addressing "The Highs and Lows of Ministry," the annual Pastors' Wives Conference will feature Lois Evans of Dallas speaking on the seasons of a woman's life, Kathy MacDonald of Chicago on how God answers prayer to work through family and church challenges and Christine Hoover of Charlottesville, Va., on conversations a wife should have with her husband.

NASHVILLE (BP) -- Trending among Baptist state convention meetings this year was the decision to send more money to the mission field -- a challenge set forth by the Great Commission Task Force adopted by the SBC at its 2010 annual meeting in Orlando.

NASHVILLE (BP) -- Baptists once again underscored their commitment to traditional marriage in state convention meetings across the nation in 2013.