News

Passages

SBC leader resigns, adoption agency co-founder dies, and other transitions in the Christian world.

Resigned: Geoff Hammond, as president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s North American Mission Board, on August 11 amid trustee concerns over his leadership. Hammond held the position since 2007.

Died: Geoffrey W. Bromiley, theologian and translator of works by Karl Barth and Ernst Käsemann into English, on August 7. He was 94.

Died: Eunice Kennedy Shriver, pro-life activist whose Catholic faith led her to found the Special Olympics, on August 11 in Massachusetts. She was 88.

Died: Mary Vanden Bosch, co-founder of Bethany Christian Services, the largest adoption agency in the U.S., on August 3. She was 93.

Died: Ernest W. Lefever, conservative minister and founder of the Ethics and Public Policy Center, on July 29 of a progressive brain disease. He was 89.

Died: Graham Stanton, an award-winning New Testament British scholar, on July 18. He was 69.

Appointed: Ronald Carpenter Sr., as general superintendent of the International Pentecostal Holiness Church. Carpenter had directed the denomination’s church planting branch, Evangelism USA, since 1997. He succeeds James D. Leggett, who will become president of Holmes Bible College in September.

Died: Paul William Gericke, founder of popular Christian radio station Lifesongs 89.1, on July 13. Gericke, 85, had served at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary since 1965.

Died: Frank Toews, missionary pilot for Africa Inland Mission, in a plane crash August 1 in Nairobi, Kenya. He had flown for the air transport ministry since 2003.

Died: John B. Coburn, former Episcopal bishop of Massachusetts, on August 8 in Bedford, Massachusetts. He was 94.

Died: Bob Lehnhart, former Mission Aviation Fellowship pilot and founder of AirServ, on August 18 from a boating accident in Alaska. He was 76.

Died: Charles E. Blair, scandal-plagued founder of Denver megachurch Calvary Temple, on August 20. He was 88.

Died: H. Wesley Wiley, civil rights leader and former pastor of Covenant Baptist Church in D.C., on July 16 in Maryland from bone cancer. He was 94.

Copyright © 2009 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.

Related Elsewhere:

See Christianity Today‘s news section and liveblog for more news updates.

Also in this issue

The CT archives are a rich treasure of biblical wisdom and insight from our past. Some things we would say differently today, and some stances we've changed. But overall, we're amazed at how relevant so much of this content is. We trust that you'll find it a helpful resource.

Our Latest

The Just Life with Benjamin Watson

Dr. Bernice King: The Truth About Nonviolence

Calling the Church to lead with clarity anchored in love.

News

Nigeria Prosecutes Suspects of 2025 Christian Massacre

Emiene Erameh

Survivors hope for justice in the trial of nine men accused of the slaughter of about 150 Christians in Benue state.

News

When Parents Pay for a Child’s Violence

Jack Panyard

The father of a school shooter was convicted of murder. What is lost and gained by the new precedent?

To Write Well Is Human

Using AI to write is a disordered and deforming means of fulfilling a good desire. The church must offer something better.

Public Theology Project

The Bible Doesn’t Justify War Crimes

Old Testament warfare ultimately points us to the Cross, where God’s justice and mercy meet in Christ.

The Rise of the Religious Right

CT called for caution as evangelicals flocked to vote for Ronald Reagan.

The Russell Moore Show

Malcolm Gladwell on Radical Forgiveness and the Death Penalty

What if the justice we rely on to bring closure is actually keeping us from it?

News

New Dead Sea Scrolls Exhibit Is the Real Deal

Gordon Govier

After an embarrassing snafu in 2020, the Museum of the Bible celebrates an authentic documents display.‌

addApple PodcastsDown ArrowDown ArrowDown Arrowarrow_left_altLeft ArrowLeft ArrowRight ArrowRight ArrowRight Arrowarrow_up_altUp ArrowUp ArrowAvailable at Amazoncaret-downCloseCloseellipseEmailEmailExpandExpandExternalExternalFacebookfacebook-squarefolderGiftGiftGooglegoogleGoogle KeephamburgerInstagraminstagram-squareLinkLinklinkedin-squareListenListenListenChristianity TodayCT Creative Studio Logologo_orgMegaphoneMenuMenupausePinterestPlayPlayPocketPodcastprintremoveRSSRSSSaveSavesaveSearchSearchsearchSpotifyStitcherTelegramTable of ContentsTable of Contentstwitter-squareWhatsAppXYouTubeYouTube