By Jeff Brumley Members of the North American Baptist Fellowship’s Disaster Response Network, meeting in Texas this week, decided on a leadership structure they hope will provide greater continuity and flexibility to the group’s operations. The group also agreed its…
CBF leader pushes for immigration reform
By Jeff Brumley Cooperative Baptist Fellowship leader Suzii Paynter ramped up her advocacy for immigration reform Aug. 28 in a conference call with reporters urging Texans in Congress to approve moral legislation that takes into account the economic needs of…
Moderates seek exit from ‘messy middle’
By Jeff Brumley Many are convinced that beyond addressing material and spiritual needs, moderate Baptist churches must become more vocal advocates for “the least of these” in society. Some are forming congregational programs, while institutions like the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship are studying…
Metro Baptist pastor trades NYC for NC pulpit
By Jeff Brumley Through e-mails and Facebook posts Thursday, Alan Sherouse informed extended friends and colleagues that he’s stepping down as pastor of Metro Baptist Church to lead a church in North Carolina. “I am in the midst of transition…
Metro Baptist pastor taking NC pulpit
By Jeff Brumley Through e-mails and Facebook posts, Alan Sherouse informed extended friends and colleagues that he’s stepping down as pastor of Metro Baptist Church to lead a church in North Carolina. “I am in the midst of transition from Metro…
Study connects views on race, church size
By Jeff Brumley Christians who worship in “very large” congregations see racial inequalities differently from those who attend smaller churches, a joint Baylor University and University of Southern California study has found. Members of the bigger institutions “do not tend…
SBC leader: Bible Belt collapsing
By Jeff Brumley Russell Moore has been making the rounds of national media outlets, telling his secular interviewers of the collapse of the Bible Belt and how it is bad for America but good for the church. Moore, president of…
Egyptian Baptists evoke spirit of founders
By Jeff Brumley In a letter describing the Islamist persecution of Christians in Egypt, a Baptist minister in Cairo provides a disturbing warning against the entanglement of religion and politics. And portions of the letter, two U.S. church scholars say, are…
Baptist church torched in Egypt
By Jeff Brumley A Baptist church is among at least 18 that were reportedly torched Wednesday by Egyptian supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi. News reports say more than 500 have died since Wednesday morning when Egyptian security forces attacked…
‘Loving OK’ succeeds despite low turnout
By Jeff Brumley Last week’s “Loving Oklahoma” tornado recovery campaign saw inspiring cooperation between Texas Baptists and Cooperative Baptists, but fell way short of its goal of drawing the 1,000 volunteers organizers wanted. Even so, planners said concerted effort to…
Evangelicals seek OK on pulpit politicking
By Jeff Brumley A church-state watchdog group has urged Congress to ignore a proposal from evangelical and other groups seeking an end to the prohibition against politics in the pulpit. The proposal by the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability claims…
D.C. Baptists defend ex-gay barred from concert
By Jeff Brumley The president of an African-American Baptist group in Washington, D.C., has criticized the city’s mayor over reports that the politician uninvited an ex-gay singer from performing in a Civil Rights commemoration event. The singer, pastor and 2010…