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…
New York ministry experiences ‘loaves and fishes’ moment with vaccine distribution
An initial plan to host COVID-19 vaccinations for 10 staff, volunteers and clients at Rauschenbusch Metro Ministries resulted in more than 40 people receiving their shots at the New York City ministry. For one organizer, it affirmed the power of…
Learn about the kinds of oppression that are different than your oppression, McMickle urges
Black Christians engaged in the struggle for racial justice must not turn a blind eye to the oppression in church and culture of gays and lesbians, women and Latinx, Asian and Native Americans, author and scholar Marvin A. McMickle said…
42% of young people say no one outside their home has reached out to them during pandemic
The faith of young people in the United States has remained stable despite the challenges of a pandemic that often prevented in-person fellowship and undermined trust in religious institutions, a new study says. “A plurality of young people say their…
His mission is to ‘change the biographies’ of at-risk youth
Gary Ivory’s work is to “change the biographies” of at-risk and high-risk youth in 30 states. “We are not interested in just changing behaviors but the whole trajectory of their lives,” said Ivory, new president of Youth Advocate Programs, a…
Attacks on Critical Race Theory are ‘attempt to maintain the status quo’
Critical Race Theory, the continued racial segregation of U.S. churches and the need to include African Americans more fully in religious liberty campaigns were among the topics discussed during “Religious Liberty Has Been White Too Long: Voices of Black Scholars,”…