By Jeff Brumley A recent LifeWay poll showing strong support for immigration reform among evangelicals came as no surprise to Baptists involved in the reform movement, but they said it seems to remain a mystery to U.S. legislators. A wide…
Be creative, not afraid, as the religiously unaffiliated rise in U.S., experts tell churches
By Jeff Brumley New research shows that the religiously unaffiliated are gaining on Christian traditions across much of the United States. The Public Religion Research Institute’s American Values Atlas, released earlier this month, finds that Catholics and the religiously unaffiliated…
Big lessons for Creflo Dollar — and the church — in a $65M jet
By Jeff Brumley Many were angered by prosperity gospel guru Creflo Dollar’s recent online campaign to raise $65 million to buy himself a new private jet — in the name of spreading the gospel around the world. Others considered the source…
Many Americans find meaning in vampire, zombie tales, Baylor prof says
By Jeff Brumley It’s a good thing so many films, books and television shows are fixated on life after death, Baylor University scholar Greg Garrett said. Because we need them. “For many of us, if we don’t tell these stories…
Baptist women say faith deepened as pregnant ministers
By Jeff Brumley The first time around as a pregnant Baptist minister, Stacy Cochran Nowell harbored worries few other moms-to-be are likely to share. Chief among them was that older church members might object to the sight of an expectant…
Church shares racism with police forces, says minister and former cop in book
By Jeff Brumley Baptist minister Terrell Carter felt he could identify when a police officer fatally shot Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., last August. “I know what it’s like to be racially profiled,” said Carter, who is African-American. “But on…
McAfee students report transformed lives — their own — in teaching prisoners
By Jeff Brumley It’s been hard for some to fathom how a condemned prisoner earned a certificate in theology while on Georgia’s death row. Even one of those who taught Kelly Gissendaner says it’s amazing that she could write papers…
Pastors wary as winter weather takes financial toll on nation’s churches
By Jeff Brumley With an ice storm blanketing Fort Worth, Texas, Senior Pastor Brent Beasley set out for Broadway Baptist Church to determine if services should be canceled the following morning. He found the sidewalks and parking lots covered by…
Baptist church transforms Sunday school into community and pastoral care
By Jeff Brumley They have a different way of doing Sunday school at Johns Creek Baptist Church in Alpharetta, Ga. — and that’s a good thing, given the state of today’s Baptist Sunday school system. “It’s mired in 1975, still,” said Michael…