Dallas pastor Richie Butler has blazed a trail through the worlds of real estate and ministry in Texas and nationwide, developing more than $500 million in urban properties, leading iconic Black churches and launching initiatives to combat racism and deliver…
CBF’s new disaster response coordinator brings diversity of experiences to the job
The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s new domestic disaster response manager sees a direct correlation between helping communities recover from catastrophes and helping society recover from systemic injustice. Both missions require clergy, church leaders and congregations to build relationships that transform strangers…
Bush calls for religious revival to help all Christians welcome immigrants
Healing the divisiveness of immigration in American politics and society requires a view of immigrants as vital cultural and economic contributors and as fellow human beings made in God’s image, former President George W. Bush said during a May 6…
Summer youth camps and internships are making a comeback this year
Church summer camps and in-person internship programs are making a comeback in 2021 with an array of new procedures designed to minimize exposure to COVID-19. But getting there after a year of virtual or zero gatherings has posed challenges to…
With vaccinations on board, CBF disaster relief looks toward unfinished work in Bahamas
A Category 5 hurricane in September 2019 and the COVID-19 pandemic that followed delivered a one-two punch to the Bahamas that destroyed lives, homes, businesses and churches, then prevented outside relief organizations from rendering aid, said Rick Burnette, the outgoing…
Book traces the complex story of women’s influence within Southern Baptist Convention
The role of women in the Southern Baptist Convention historically has been much more complex than narratives about female submission to a male-controlled denomination. “There were spaces in Southern Baptist life in which women sought and found agency, supported one…
Barna: Racism a reality even in multiracial churches
Multiracial churches are growing in the U.S., which may seem like a good thing. Unless you are Black. “Almost three in 10 Black practicing Christians in a multiracial church (29%) say they have experienced racial prejudice on some level,” the…
Through 14 months of pandemic, hospital chaplains have carried others’ burdens
The emotional trauma suffered by health care workers in the battle against COVID-19 also is being felt by the chaplains who ministered to the sick and dying during the pandemic. “I think chaplains may have a little PTSD when this…
BWA urges: Remember the people of Myanmar this weekend
The goal of this week’s “Myanmar Red Ribbon Solidarity Weekend” is to combine prayer with activism to tangibly support the oppressed people of the Asian nation formerly known as Burma, a Baptist World Alliance official said. “It’s important as Baptists…
In BNG webinar, Ryan Burge details the double threat to denominational churches in America
Clergy and congregational leaders worried about losing members to the swelling ranks of the religiously unaffiliated need to widen their focus of concern to include the rise of the non-denominational church movement, Ryan Burge said during “Understanding the ‘Nones,’” an…
Alliance of Baptists updates its covenant and hears calls to action against injustice
The economic, racial and social injustices exposed and exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic have called progressive Christians to bolder-than-ever action on behalf of the oppressed, pastor and writer Aurelia Dávila Pratt said during her opening keynote address to the Alliance…
The pandemic slowed down Mercer on Mission but a $10 million gift is powering the future
“Coddiwomple,” Craig McMahan says, pretty much describes Mercer on Mission as it emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic. “It’s a word that means to move purposely toward an unknown or vague destination, and we are certainly moving cautiously but confidently toward…