By Jeff Brumley Women clergy make a lot less money than their male counterparts, new federal statistics show — and a lot of women ministers are finding this disturbing. That was evident on the Baptist Women in Ministry Facebook page, where…
For Baptists-turned-Episcopalians, Anglican disagreement feels familiar
By Jeff Brumley Growing up Southern Baptist in Alabama, Malcom Marler saw just how nasty people can be when they disagree about scripture and thorny theological issues. The resulting departure of moderates and liberals from the convention in the late…
Scholar disputes pollsters’ dire predictions for faith in U.S.
By Jeff Brumley You don’t have to follow the news that closely to hear that Christianity is on the ropes in America, that worship attendance is spiraling downward, that young people want nothing to do with church and that Americans…
Inspired by Obama, Baptist pastor offers ‘state of the church’
By Jeff Brumley Merianna Neely Harrelson was watching President Obama’s State of the Union address Tuesday night when it struck her: someone should do a state-of-the-church address. Then Harrelson, pastor at Emmanuel Baptist Fellowship in Lexington, S.C., thought that someone…
Increasingly, churches are unwilling to adapt, new survey indicates
By Jeff Brumley A new study reports that American churches are increasingly less willing to make changes to worship, programs and ministries needed to best reflect and meet the needs of the communities around them. Oak Grove United Methodist Church…
Marketed faith fuels Millennials’ distrust of church, minister says
By Jeff Brumley American churches already struggling with ways to attract young people got more bad news this week: Millennials don’t like them very much. And worse yet, their esteem of religious organizations is dropping right along with that of…
Disaster recovery in full swing in wake of N. Texas twisters
By Jeff Brumley Disaster recovery forces have swung into action to help the victims of tornadoes that struck North Texas the night after Christmas, killing 11. Much of the work is being led by faith-based organizations, with organizations like Texas…
Making resolutions for 2016? Give them to God, ministers say
By Jeff Brumley New Year’s resolutions are huge in the United States, where 45 percent of Americans commit to them annually. But fewer take them seriously, according to the Statistic Brain Research Institute, which tracks the trend. It reported that…
Ministry leaders: challenges of 2015 offer growth in coming year
By Jeff Brumley Ministry and nonprofit leaders are reporting opportunities for growth in 2016 — and some of them credit the difficulties of the preceding year for that. Still, for others, and for many churches, the next 12 months may have…