LaTonya McIver Penny wasn’t satisfied with surrendering chocolate or coffee or Facebook for Lent. Instead, the African-American pastor of a Baptist church in North Carolina decided to give up white supremacy this year.
‘God don’t make junk’: Transformed vision prompted transformed community in S.C. neighborhood
Metanoia, a grassroots, asset-based community development ministry founded in 2002, is changing lives and perceptions in a North Charleston, S.C., neighborhood.
Metanoia lives into its name as community’s opportunities flourish
According to Merriam-Webster, “metanoia” is a Greek word describing “a transformative change of heart.” A faith-based non-profit in South Carolina has lived into that definition in remarkable ways, observers say.
Photo Gallery: Metanoia in photos
All photos taken in this photo gallery of Metanoia are by Stephen B. Morton. [Best_Wordpress_Gallery id=”14″ gal_title=”Charleston: Metanoia with Bill Stanfield”] In this series, we learn what happens when a community rejects traditional concepts of charity but instead taps the existing…
Arrests, deportations chill demand for immigrant legal aid ministries
When two Baptist ministers launched a legal aid ministry for immigrants in Virginia in the fall of 2016, it was aimed largely at helping Latinos attain and maintain legal residency. But Donald Trump’s election a couple months later, and his high-profile immigration crackdown since taking office, has slowed demand for Greg and Sue Smith’s LUCHA Immigration Legal Services in Fredericksburg, Va.
Billy Graham’s influence on Christian unity still felt, say many who remember his preaching
The death of Billy Graham has evoked, once again, amazement at the evangelist’s unparalleled spiritual impact on American faith and culture. But it’s also stirred speculation about how long, and in what ways, Graham’s influence may endure.
Parkland massacre takes pastor back to father’s mass shooting death
For one Baptist minister in South Florida, the response to the most recent school gun massacre is visceral. Joe LaGuardia, pastor at First Baptist Church in Vero Beach, graduated in 1996 from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, where one of his best friends was fellow student Aaron Feis — the assistant football coach and security guard who died protecting students from gunfire. What’s more, his father was killed in a mass shooting in Pennsylvania in 2013.
Some ministers demand action, others reflect after Florida school shootings
Wednesday’s Florida school massacre evoked a immense, and emotional, outpouring on social media. Some posted on Ash Wednesday, others the following day. The following is a sampling of response from ministers.
In new podcast, two Baptists explore God, sex, guilt and the ‘purity’ movement
Two self-described survivors of the True Love Waits phenomenon have produced a series of podcasts exploring faith, sex and life in the wake of the evangelical “purity” movement.
Like God, hip-hop gives voice to the oppressed, Chicago preacher says
Jonathan Brooks was introduced to faith growing up in a Missionary Baptist church on Chicago’s Southside. But he met Jesus through Christian hip hop. “For me, it’s always been the fact that [hip-hop] was a voice for the marginalized and for the oppressed,” Brooks says. And the same, he adds, is true about God.
Super Bowl MVP offers key to survival for struggling churches, minister says
Leave it to a pastor to find encouragement for churches in a Super Bowl victory speech. That’s exactly what American Baptist Alan Rudnick does in his Feb. 6 blog post, “Churches, listen to Super Bowl MVP Nick Foles.”
Bi-vocational, black female pastor overcame doubters to thrive in pulpit
Like any pastor, LaTonya McIver Penny is busy. But this minister’s calendar goes above and beyond busy. In addition to leading New Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Roxboro, N.C., and all that entails, Penny is a mother of two and runs a non-profit advocating for the respectful and compassionate treatment of children with disabilities in churches. And like other women pastors, Penny confronted her share of opposition from those who say females should not be pastors.