By Jeff Brumley A CBF-supported conference called to help Newtown-area clergy has inspired Fellowship leaders to develop plans for responding to man-made disasters like the Sandy Hook Elementary massacre. The April 26 workshop in Connecticut has similarly led other participants,…
Disaster ministry: calling or compulsion?
By Jeff Brumley Leaders of faith-based disaster-recovery agencies say there’s nothing like calamity to invigorate a Christian’s faith. Pastors of churches where disasters strike have noticed a difference in people, too. “Whether it’s man-made or something from nature, I think…
Young musician: Church organ thriving
By Jeff Brumley South Main Baptist Church organist Daryl Robinson is tearing it up in the music world, winning awards and dazzling venues both sacred and secular. “Daryl brings freshness and excitement to the hymn singing” and “is equally strong…
Paynter, ‘CBF 2.0’ visit Fla. gathering
By Jeff Brumley The promise from the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Florida during its spring meeting Friday and Saturday was to “Re-vision, Re-Imagine, Renew” the Fellowship – and Suzii Paynter delivered. In light-hearted and serious moments, CBF’s new executive coordinator…
What now for West, Texas?
By Marv Knox and Jeff Brumley The outpouring of sympathy and solidarity for West, Texas, has been immense since a fertilizer plant explosion killed 15 – including 12 first-responders – on April 17. Thursday’s memorial in nearby Waco underscored that by…
Obama, Bible play big in West memorial
By Marv Knox and Jeff Brumley Today’s memorial service for 12 firefighters killed in West, Texas, on April 17 was laced with prayer, scripture and the theme that tragedy brings people and communities together. Even President Obama came bearing a…
West, Texas, church gathers for worship
By John Hall and Jeff Brumley Its church building still in lockdown four days after a fertilizer plant explosion killed 14 people and injured 200 others, members of First Baptist Church in West, Texas, gathered in a makeshift altar in…
Can Christianity and evolution co-exist?
By Jeff Brumley A two-day conference beginning Sunday, April 21, in Dayton, Ohio, seeks to dispel the notion that science and faith are natural enemies and to prove that acceptance of evolution and the Big Bang theory are compatible with…
Baptists respond to blast with aid, prayer
By Jeff Brumley Local, regional and state church groups responded April 18 to the deadly fertilizer explosion that leveled portions of West, Texas, on Wednesday night. Baptist pastors and secretaries in congregations dotting the map around the central Texas city…
Cancer patients ‘Sojourn’ in Houston
By Jeff Brumley Imagine being 800 miles from home receiving radiation treatments while bouncing from hotel to hotel – or having to live out of a car or hospital lobby. Thanks to a housing ministry of Houston’s South Main Baptist…
Storms prompt ‘compassion adrenaline’
By Jeff Brumley It’s called “compassion adrenaline” when someone feels a nearly overwhelming urge to help others in need, and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s Tommy Deal felt a wave of it coming his way Thursday night. As huge, violent storms…
‘Bapticostal’ comic rising Hollywood star
By Jeff Brumley Nowadays, comedian Michael Joiner is billed as “God’s Smart Aleck” to gently remind audiences that his clean humor comes from a Christian perspective. But there was a time when the Indiana native, raised a Baptist, was anything…