Some Baptists are looking to Missouri history as a possible source of healing of the divisions between them. The Missouri Plan, which ended a century ago, emerged after the Civil War as a bridge between Southern Baptists and Northern Baptists…
Advocates seek systemic change in prison justice issues
For the past 15 years, Alan Bean has found himself involved in some of the biggest criminal justice controversies in Texas and Louisiana. In 1999, the mild-mannered Baptist minister founded Friends of Justice and assumed the role of prophet and…
As U.S. holds world record for imprisonment, churches increase prison ministries
The United States locks up more people in prison — in raw numbers and in percentage of the population — than any other nation in the world. More than 2 million people are incarcerated in federal, state and county jails,…
Clergy urge politicians to engage refugees with compassion, not fear
Americans supporting the compassionate treatment of refugees are expressing their conviction in a variety of ways and places. It can include fundraising and ministering directly to “the least of these” to sharing their beliefs across social media. And for churches, clergy…
Helping refugees not optional for Jesus’ followers, ministers say
Scripture and the example of Christ compel Christians to be a welcoming spirit to the waves of refugees arriving in the United States, a number of Baptist leaders say. The Gateway Arch represented the westward expansion of the United States….
Baptists team up to combat domestic human trafficking
Brian Kaylor Although sometimes portrayed as a problem found in other nations, human trafficking also occurs in large numbers in the United States. The FBI includes St. Louis as one of the top 20 trafficking cities in the U.S., and…
Faith advocates weigh Paris agreement on climate change
By Brian Kaylor As diplomats from more than 190 nations spent nearly two weeks in Paris hammering out details of an international agreement to reduce climate change, faith leaders also traveled to the talks in hopes of offering a moral…
Church remembers the violence inherent in Advent
By Brian Kaylor On the second Sunday of Advent, the lawn of Highland Baptist Church in Louisville, Ky., was covered with wooden crosses like one sees in a military cemetery. Each cross — about 75 of them — will represent…
Worshiping at the ‘little church on the mound’ stirs rural congregation
By Brian Kaylor The address for Union Mound Baptist Church says Elkland, Mo. That small, unincorporated city has one restaurant — located inside a gas station. Union Mound actually sits on top of a small hilltop about eight miles away…