Interfaith clergy, including leaders in the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, released a statement July 23 calling on the state of Texas to drop its ban on prison chaplains from its execution chamber, imposed after the United States Supreme Court ruled that the state could not execute an inmate without allowing a Buddhist chaplain to be in the room at his time of death.
Tennessee Baptist leaders recruiting churches to lobby for abortion ban
The Tennessee Baptist Convention launched an online petition July 23 to rally the state’s 3,000 Southern Baptist churches in support of legislation to ban abortion at all stages of pregnancy.
Baptist World Alliance supports ‘equal space’ for women in church leadership
During a recent meeting in the Bahamas, the General Council of the Baptist World Alliance issued a strongly worded resolution calling on global Baptists to repent of teachings, language and practices that are harmful to women.
Small church makes big news with ‘America, love it or leave it’ sign
An independent fundamentalist Baptist church in Virginia entered a national debate over President Donald Trump’s tweet urging four Democratic congresswomen to go back to their home countries with an outdoor sign saying “America: Love or Leave It.”
More malarkey: Theologian calls out Southern Baptists over reparations, women’s subordination
The first female professor of theology to be awarded tenure at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, says her alma mater missed an opportunity to atone for its complicated legacy of slavery when it refused to consider reparations for a historically black college in the same community.
Franklin Graham uses Decision Magazine to issue dire warning against Equality Act
Evangelist Franklin Graham warned that a proposed law supported by Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in public accommodations presents a “clear and present danger to religious freedom” in an op-ed accompanying the cover story of the July/August 2019 edition of Decision Magazine.
Outside review finds ‘ambiguous’ doctrine at Baptist university
A third-party review of religious teaching at a Missouri Baptist university found that a lack of doctrinal clarity has led to “an erosion of trust” between the institution and its denominational sponsor.
Down by the Riverside: Fractured church picking up pieces after bombshell reports on pastor’s departure
Riverside Church in New York City held a members-only meeting Sunday, following a week of sensational headlines in competing newspapers covering the departure of Pastor Amy Butler.
Supporters demand answers on five-year anniversary of woman’s disappearance, death
About 75 people gathered July 8 outside a Missouri courthouse demanding answers and justice on the five-year anniversary of the disappearance and death of a woman married to a Missouri Baptist lobbyist.