Ken Camp

Managing Editor at Baptist Standard

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Articles

Constance “Connie” Gayle Billinger Davis

2 days ago | baptiststandard.com | Ken Camp

Constance “Connie” Gayle Billinger Davis Constance “Connie” Gayle Billinger Davis of Abilene, teacher and social worker, died May 8. She was 70. She was born in Darnall Army Hospital at Fort Hood on Dec. 20, 1954. After she graduated from Killeen High School, she went on to Baylor University in Waco, graduating in 1975 with a degree in psychology.
Senate bill introduced to move lottery administration

2 days ago | baptiststandard.com | Ken Camp

The Texas lawmaker who authored a bill to abolish the Texas Lottery filed alternative legislation May 13 that would dissolve the Texas Lottery Commission and move regulation of the lottery to another state agency. “If there isn’t enough of an appetite to get rid of the lottery outright, then this bill represents the next best thing,” Sen. Bob Hall, R-Edgewood, said as he presented SB 3070 in a Senate Committee on State Affairs hearing, where the bill was left pending.
Former Southern Baptist Josh Buice quits G3 Conference

3 days ago | baptiststandard.com | Ken Camp

(RNS)—An influential Calvinist pastor who quit the Southern Baptist Convention after claiming it was too woke and liberal has been suspended by his church for causing controversy online, running fake social media accounts that criticized his church’s elders and other pastors from a conference he ran.
Religious coercion lawsuit in Chicago schools settled

3 days ago | baptiststandard.com | Ken Camp

(RNS)—The Chicago Board of Education and New York’s David Lynch Foundation have agreed to settle a three-year-long class-action lawsuit that alleged public high school students were forced to practice Hindu rituals through the guise of a meditation program. The “Quiet Time” initiative of the David Lynch Foundation for Consciousness-Based Education and World Peace implemented a twice-daily 15-minute meditation session in five Chicago high schools between 2015 and 2019.
Afghans who fled Taliban face repatriation

1 week ago | baptiststandard.com | Ken Camp

About 14,000 Afghans who came to the United States to escape the Taliban—including religious minorities who experienced persecution in their homeland—face forced repatriation in less than two weeks. U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced April 11 the termination of Temporary Protected Status for Afghan nationals who relocated to the United States, effective May 20. Afghan children receive loving attention at Vila Minhya Pátria, operated by Baptists in Brazil.
Musician Squire Parsons moves on to ‘Sweet Beulah Land’

1 week ago | baptiststandard.com | Ken Camp

Squire Parsons Jr., a native of West Virginia and longtime Southern Gospel singer, died May 5. He was 77. Parsons’ father, who was a choir director and deacon at his church, taught his son how to sing using shaped notes. Parsons held a bachelor of science degree in music from West Virginia University Institute of Technology in Montgomery, where he was trained on the piano and bassoon, and received an honorary doctorate from the university in 1999.
Shane Claiborne arrested while praying at the capitol

1 week ago | baptiststandard.com | Ken Camp

WASHINGTON (RNS)—Five faith leaders were arrested while praying in the U.S. Capitol Rotunda on May 5. It marked the second time in as many weeks clergy and others have been handcuffed as they speak out against the Republican-led budget bill. Among those arrested was Shane Claiborne, a longtime activist and co-director of Red Letter Christians, a Christian social justice group.
Obituary: Freddy Mason

1 week ago | baptiststandard.com | Ken Camp

Freddy Mason of Carthage, who served the same rural Panola County church as pastor more than five and a half decades, died May 5. He was 79. He was born Nov. 30, 1945, in Texarkana, Ark., to Fred and Pansy Joy Woods Mason. After he graduated from Carthage High School, he attended Panola College, where he served as the sophomore class president. He also was choir president, an All-Star Cast Member and participated in one-act plays.
Senate committee considers bill to abolish Texas Lottery

1 week ago | baptiststandard.com | Ken Camp

In presenting his bill to abolish the Texas Lottery to the Senate Committee on State Affairs, Sen. Bob Hall laid out a detailed recounting of how the Texas Lottery Commission in recent years failed to abide by state laws. (Screen capture image)“There is no way to reorganize, restructure or restore the integrity of the government-run Texas Lottery,” said Sen. Bob Hall, R-Edgewood, who introduced SB 1988. Hall’s bill calls for the abolition of the Texas Lottery, effective Jan. 1, 2026.
Lowrie named dean of HPU School of Christian Studies

1 week ago | baptiststandard.com | Ken Camp

BROWNWOOD—Howard Payne University appointed David Lowrie, longtime Texas Baptist pastor and former president of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, as dean of the School of Christian Studies. Lowrie brings more than 43 years of ministry experience and leadership to the role and will begin the position in August. Gary Gramling, current dean of the School of Christian Studies, will continue to serve as director of Christian studies graduate programs and professor of Christian studies.