Top stories

Todd Wright seeks to build up next generation of leaders as he transitions from Midway Church

Pastor Todd Wright preaches at Midway Church. (Photo/Midway Church)
VILLA RICA, Ga. — When Todd Wright was called to Midway Church in 1996, he was recognized as an effective and passionate preacher. He also knew that a pastor was responsible for carefully shepherding the flock of God. But early in his ministry Wright realized that an effectual pastor must be skilled as a leader.
Dr. Emir Caner, president of Truett McConnell University, shares his dream of a residential complex on campus that would accommodate 400 students.
Truett McConnell president's vision is to fill proposed dorm with students 'sold out for Jesus'
CLEVELAND, Ga. — Truett McConnell University President Emir Caner has a dream, a vision, a goal of having resident housing for 1,000 students on campus who can be trained to be warriors for Christ. A proposed dormitory would provide housing for an additional 400 students for the growing university.
This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows a view of the Francis Scott Key Bridge that was struck by a container ship in Baltimore, Md., on Tuesday, March 26, 2024. (Maxaar Technologies via AP)
Police had about 90 seconds to stop traffic before Baltimore bridge fell; 6 workers are feared dead
BALTIMORE (AP) — It was the middle of the night when a dispatcher’s warning crackled over the radio: A massive cargo ship had lost its steering capabilities and was heading toward the Francis Scott Key Bridge. Within about 90 seconds, police officers responded that they had managed to stop vehicle traffic over the Baltimore bridge in both directions. One said he was about to drive onto the bridge to alert a construction crew.
Wreckage of the Francis Scott Key Bridge rests on a container ship Tuesday, March 26, 2024, as seen from Pasadena, Md. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)
Baltimore bridge collapses after powerless cargo ship rams into support column; 6 presumed dead
BALTIMORE (AP) — A cargo ship lost power and rammed into a major bridge in Baltimore early Tuesday, destroying the span in a matter of seconds and plunging it into the river in a terrifying collapse that could disrupt a vital shipping port for months. Six people were missing and presumed dead.
SBC Executive Committee trustees surround Jeff Iorg to pray following a vote to call him as the next president and CEO of the SBC Executive Committee. (The Baptist Paper/Jane Rodgers)
Jeff Iorg elected next SBC Executive Committee president and CEO
Jeff Iorg, retiring president of Gateway Seminary, was elected as the next Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee president/CEO during a special-called trustee meeting in Dallas, Thursday, March 21. Iorg transitions to the new role after 20 years at Gateway. He enters the position at a crucial moment in SBC life, as the EC copes with financial and legal challenges amid the denomination’s reckoning with sexual abuse and declining baptisms, among other concerns.
Adam Greenway preaches in a chapel service at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in this file photo. He has filed a lawsuit  claiming defamation. (Photo/Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary)
Greenway offers explanation for expenditures in lawsuit against Southwestern seminary
Adam Greenway, who was forced out as president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in September 2022, filed a personal injury lawsuit against the seminary and the past chair of its trustee board. The lawsuit, filed March 20 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, asserts the seminary administration and the then chairman of the trustee board, “began a defamatory campaign against Dr. Greenway that included both specific false statements, along with publication of a narrative that created a substantially false and defamatory impression.”
Baptist Life

Danny Cochran retires after a long and fruitful ministry

Holly Creek Baptist Church Pastor Danny Cochran holds a plaque from the GBMB on the occasion of the church’s 175th anniversary.
CHATSWORTH, Ga. — After 45 years of a pastoral, teaching, and mentoring ministry and almost a quarter of a century as pastor of Holly Creek Baptist Church in Chatsworth, Dr. Danny Cochran has retired from full-time ministry. His fervent prayer is that he will be able to continue to encourage pastors and help churches as God grants him the opportunity to do so.
A team of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary students spent their Spring Break planting seeds in Coney Island. Sponsored by the World Mission Center, the seven men and women spent eight days serving with Graffiti Fellowship sowing seeds of hope in the New York City neighborhood in the borough of Brooklyn.
LIVINGSTON, La. — Colyell Baptist Church was seeing people saved and baptized each year, but their spiritual journeys seemed to stop just beyond the baptis­tery, according to Pastor Jer­emy Glascock and his wife, Amanda, who both realized the church had to get serious about discipleship.
RICHMOND, Va. — Asians remain the largest ethnic group of missionaries currently serving with the International Mission Board, but they still represent a relatively small number of Asian congregations in the Southern Baptist Convention.
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. — Discipleship is not a competition, but if it were, men might be seen as underdogs. Research shows men’s discipleship tracks behind women’s in several key metrics. For example, women are 14% more likely than men to attend a weekly religious service, 10% more likely to spend time alone with God daily and 6% more likely to read from the Bible or a devotional.
Georgia
A sign celebrating Sine Die is seen at the Capitol in Atlanta on Sine Die, the last day of the legislative session, Thursday, March 28, 2024. (Arvin Temkar/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

On last day of Georgia legislative session, religious freedom and sports betting bills fail while others pass

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia's two-year legislative session ended early Friday, after lawmakers stayed past midnight on Thursday pass some bills and reject others as the term ended. Lawmakers rejected legalizing sports betting, but agreed to tighten rules on law enforcement cooperation with immigration officials.

Georgia teachers and state employees will get pay raises as state budget passes

ATLANTA (AP) — Pay raises for Georgia's public school teachers and state employees were never in doubt politically from the moment Gov. Brian Kemp proposed them, but lawmakers finally clinched the deal on Thursday, passing a budget that also boosts spending on education, health care and mental health.

Georgia lawmakers approve new election rules that could impact 2024 presidential contest

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia lawmakers on Thursday approved new rules for challenging voters and qualifying for the state's presidential ballot that could impact the 2024 presidential race in the battleground state. Senate Bill 189 passed the House by a vote of 101 to 73 and the Senate by a vote of 33-22, sending it to Gov. Brian Kemp for his signature or veto.

Sports betting won't be legal in Georgia after lawmakers couldn't agree on how to spend taxes

ATLANTA (AP) — An effort to authorize sports betting in Georgia has failed for another year, after lawmakers couldn't agree on how to spend money collected on taxes. Neither a proposed state constitutional amendment or authorizing legislation ever came to a vote in the House, after a committee passed it out early on Thursday, the last day of the 2024 legislative session.
Nation
Cars and trucks line up to enter the U.S. from Mexico at a border crossing in El Paso, Texas, March 29, 2019. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert, File)

Many Americans say immigrants contribute to economy but there's worry over risks, AP-NORC poll finds

WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans are more worried about legal immigrants committing crimes in the U.S. than they were a few years ago, a change driven largely by increased concern among Republicans, while Democrats continue to see a broad range of benefits from immigration, a new poll shows.

Building a new Key Bridge could take years and cost at least $400 million, experts say

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Rebuilding Baltimore’s collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge could take anywhere from 18 months to several years, experts say, while the cost could be at least $400 million — or more than twice that. It all depends on factors that are still mostly unknown. They range from the design of the new bridge to how swiftly government officials can navigate the bureaucracy of approving permits and awarding contracts.

Cranes arriving to start removing wreckage from deadly Baltimore bridge collapse

BALTIMORE (AP) — The largest crane on the Eastern Seaboard was being transported to Baltimore so crews on Friday can begin removing the wreckage of a collapsed highway bridge that has halted a search for four workers still missing days after the disaster and blocked the city's vital port from operating. As the sun rose Friday, a crane could be seen at the site.

US changes how it categorizes people by race and ethnicity for first time in 27 years

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — For the first time in 27 years, the U.S. government is changing how it categorizes people by race and ethnicity, an effort that federal officials believe will more accurately count residents who identify as Hispanic and of Middle Eastern and North African heritage.
World
Residents gather as the coffin containing the remains of an 8-year-old girl is delivered to the family in Taxco, Mexico, Thursday, March 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Llano)

Mob in Mexico brutally beats suspected kidnapper to death hours before Holy Week procession

TAXCO, Mexico (AP) — A mob in the Mexican tourist city of Taxco brutally beat a woman to death Thursday because she was suspected of kidnapping and killing a young girl, rampaging just hours before the city’s famous Holy Week procession.

Bus plunges off a bridge in South Africa, killing 45 people

MMAMATLAKALA, South Africa (AP) — Emergency workers in South Africa were searching Friday for the bodies of victims after a bus carrying pilgrims to an Easter gathering plunged off a bridge and caught fire. An 8-year-old child was the only survivor of the crash that killed at least 45.

UN top court orders Israel to open more land crossings for aid into Gaza

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The top United Nations court on Thursday ordered Israel to take measures to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza, including opening more land crossings to allow food, water, fuel and other supplies into the war-ravaged enclave.

An airstrip is being built on a Yemeni island during the ongoing war, with 'I LOVE UAE' next to it

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — As Yemen’s Houthi rebels continue to target ships in a Mideast waterway, satellite pictures analyzed by The Associated Press show what appears to be a new airstrip being built at an entrance to that crucial maritime route.
Perspectives
Miners always filled the bottom of the lunch bucket with water so that if they were trapped underneath the ground, they would have water to live on for a couple days. And every night before my dad got on the elevator to ascend 200 feet to the top, he would throw out the water in his lunch bucket and fill it up with miner dollars, or pyrite disks. He wasn’t stealing. This was allowed by the coal mine.
Georgia Baptists have been monitoring up to 54 bills since this legislative cycle began in 2023. Now that we have made it past crossover day (the 28th day of the session) we are focusing on at least 19 bills. Our primary focus has been pro-life, religious liberty, gambling, child protection and alcohol bills.
What happens to missionaries once they leave our churches? We should all be asking this question when we launch missionaries from our congregations. However, for too many churches, the old adage “out of sight, out of mind” rules the day. We still care about those we send. We probably pray for them, and, if their parents are in our churches, we get periodic updates. But eventually, the busyness of life and the pressing needs of our local community push out all thoughts of missionaries.
Serving as editor of The Christian Index has been a great privilege and a labor of love. Giving that up isn’t easy. I took the job three years ago with hopes of pumping new life into the nation’s oldest religious newspaper, now 202 years old. With that mission accomplished, it’s time for a new challenge. So, I’ll be leaving the Index at the end of March.
 In June of last year, physicians in Ecuador declared Bella Montoya dead, but as family members gathered for her wake, she suddenly showed signs of life as she rested in her coffin. Four months earlier, workers at a Long Island nursing home pronounced an 82-year-old woman dead, but three hours later, funeral home staff discovered she was still alive and breathing.
Business
Niaz Mardan wraps a luxury handmade Belgian chocolate rabbit at Sandrine a chocolate shop in southwest London, Thursday, March 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

It's a bittersweet Easter for chocolate lovers and African cocoa farmers but big brands see profits

ACCRA, Ghana (AP) — Shoppers may get a bitter surprise in their Easter baskets this year, as chocolate eggs and bunnies are more expensive than ever. About three-quarters of the world’s cocoa — the main ingredient in chocolate — are produced on cacao trees in Ghana, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Cameroon. But dusty seasonal winds from the Sahara were severe in recent months, blocking out the sunlight needed for bean pods to grow. The season prior, heavy rainfall spread a rotting disease.

Home Depot buying supplier to professional contractors in a deal valued at about $18.25B

Home Depot will buy SRS Distribution, a materials provider for professionals, in a deal valued at approximately $18.25 billion. It is Home Depot's largest acquisition in its history and with it, it steps more aggressively into the fast growing professional builder and contactor business.

Ships carrying cars and heavy equipment need to find a new harbor following Baltimore bridge collapse

Manufacturers and shippers are scrambling to figure out where they can load or unload cargo while the main operations of the Port of Baltimore remain shut down due to Tuesday's deadly collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge. Supply chain experts say other ports up and down the East Coast, including some in Georgia, are likely to absorb much of Baltimore's traffic, avoiding a crisis. But not without some longer shipping times and upheaval.

Visa, Mastercard settle long-running antitrust suit over swipe fees with merchants

NEW YORK (AP) — Visa and MasterCard announced a settlement with U.S. merchants related to swipe fees, a development that could potentially save consumers tens of billions of dollars. Swipe fees are paid to Visa, Mastercard and other credit card companies in exchange for enabling transactions. Merchants ultimately pass on those fees to consumers who use credit or debit cards.

Bird flu and inflation conspire to keep egg prices near historic highs for Easter

Egg prices are at near-historic highs in many parts of the world as the spring holidays approach, reflecting a market scrambled by disease, high demand and growing costs for farmers. It’s the second year in a row consumers have faced sticker shock ahead of Easter and Passover, both occasions in which eggs play prominent roles.
Sports
Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) fouls Atlanta Hawks guard Vit Krejci (27) during the first half Thursday, March 28, 2024, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

Murray scores career-high 44 points, makes game-winning shot in OT as Hawks outlast Celtics 123-122

ATLANTA (AP) — Dejounte Murray scored a career-high 44 points, including a go-ahead jumper in the final second of overtime to power the Atlanta Hawks to a 123-122 victory over the Boston Celtics on Thursday night. Murray scored all of Atlanta's 11 points in the extra period to give the Hawks their second win over Boston in four days.

Dejounte Murray scores 30 points, Hawks hand Trail Blazers 8th straight loss with 120-106 victory

ATLANTA (AP) — Dejounte Murray had 30 points and seven assists and the Atlanta Hawks won their third in a row and handed Portland its eighth straight loss, beating the Trail Blazers 120-106 on Wednesday night. Garrison Mathews hit five 3-points and scored a season-high 21 points to help the Hawks remain 10th in the Eastern Conference and avenge a 106-102 loss in Portland on March 13. Matthews led the Atlanta backups to 41 points.

Hawks star Trae Young enters next step in rehab from finger surgery with no timetable for return

ATLANTA (AP) — All-Star guard Trae Young will enter the next step in his rehabilitation from finger surgery, the Atlanta Hawks said Tuesday, but it's still not known when he can rejoin the lineup. Young had a one-month follow-up examination to his Feb. 27 operation to repair a torn ligament in his left pinkie finger.

Hawks rally from 30 points down to stun NBA-leading Celtics 120-118

ATLANTA (AP) — De'Andre Hunter scored 24 points, including a clinching 3-pointer with 9.2 seconds remaining, and the patched-together Atlanta Hawks rallied from a 30-point deficit Monday night for a stunning 120-118 victory over the NBA-leading Boston Celtics.