The director of Baptist World Aid, relief-and-development arm of the Baptist World Alliance, stepped down March 16 after three-and-a-half years on the job, according to a news release. Rothangliani Rema Chhangte, former liaison for Burmese refugees with American Baptist Home…
End U.S. embargo on Cuba, faith leaders tell Congress
Two dozen faith communities joined in a letter March 16 urging members of Congress to end the nation’s “long-standing and counter-productive” embargo on Cuba. “We have listened to the call of our partner faith communities in Cuba, with whom we…
DNC head challenged by faith leaders over exploitative payday lending
Several Cooperative Baptist Fellowship ministers were among 36 faith leaders sending an open letter March 17 taking the chair of the Democratic National Committee to task for resisting attempts by the Obama administration to rein in abuses in payday lending….
NCAA won’t divest from schools that discriminate
The NCAA will not divest from colleges and universities requesting religious exemptions from Title IX regulations that prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity, the association’s “chief inclusion officer” said March 15. Bernard Franklin, executive vice president of education…
North American Baptist Fellowship seeking new leader
The North American Baptist Fellowship, one of six global regions affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance, is accepting applications for a new general secretary. George Bullard, president of the Columbia Partnership, recently announced he is stepping down July 31 after…
‘Religious liberty’ bill passes Georgia House, Senate
The Georgia General Assembly passed an amended “Free Exercise Protection Act” March 16 that now heads to an uncertain fate with the state’s Republican governor. Capping two years of lobbying efforts by groups including the 1.3-million-member Georgia Baptist Convention, the…
BJC’s Brent Walker urges vote on Obama’s Supreme Court nominee
A Baptist church-state expert welcomed President Obama’s March 16 announcement of a nominee for a Supreme Court seat vacated by the death last month of Associate Justice Antonin Scalia. In a Rose Garden ceremony Wednesday morning, the president announced his…
‘Evangelical elite’ just doesn’t get it, claims pastor and Trump supporter
A Southern Baptist pastor who has been supportive of GOP presidential front runner Donald Trump says leaders of an “evangelical elite” vocally opposed to Trump are out of touch with people in the pew. “There is an absolute disconnect between…
Baptist group welcomes latest easing of U.S. pressure on Cuba
An Alliance of Baptists leader is applauding new policies easing restrictions on travel and trade with Cuba unveiled by the Obama administration March 15.
Former SBC leader claims 2016 election most important since the Civil War
The former head of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commissions says the possibility of a lesser-of-two-evils choice in this year’s presidential election cannot deter conservative evangelicals from going to the polls. “The 2016 election year is well…
Lawmakers seek repeal of no aid to religion in Oklahoma constitution
Lawmakers in Oklahoma are pushing a ballot initiative to repeal a section of the state constitution that prohibits the use of taxpayer money or property to advance religion. House Joint Resolution 1062, passed by the Oklahoma House of Representatives March…
Richard Shahan trial postponed
The trial of a longtime Southern Baptist minister charged with murder in his wife’s 2013 stabbing death has been pushed back until 2017. Richard Shahan, former children and families pastor and facilities director at First Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala.,…