By Jeff Brumley The Georgia preacher who proposed a resolution urging the Southern Baptist Convention to get tough on predators says Baptist leaders’ public support of an evangelical preacher accused in a lawsuit of covering up child sex abuse has…
Team seeks to avert SBC split on Calvinism
By Jeff Brumley Growing disagreements over the role of Calvinism will make the Southern Baptist Convention stronger, not weaker, as long as its focus remains on evangelism, members of an advisory team commissioned to study the topic told hundreds in…
Housing miracle for struggling KY family
By Jeff Brumley For Shawna Barnett and her husband, Malachi, a lay Church of God preacher, “the Lord works in mysterious ways” took on special meaning Wedneaday when a few dozen Baptist volunteers started building their new home in McCreary…
Volunteers sought for twister recovery
By Jeff Brumley Cooperative Baptist Fellowship officials in Oklahoma say they are prepared to handle visiting, short-term volunteer groups to help with tornado cleanup and recovery. Based at First Baptist Church in Norman, Oklahoma CBF Disaster Response has already hosted…
Mont. theology center has missional aim
By Jeff Brumley A Baptist-inspired project envisioned to inspire and retool pastors and congregations for the missional church environment is taking shape in Bozeman, Mont. The Yellowstone Theological Institute has secured $4.5 million in land and money pledges. While probably…
Social media aid disaster response
By Jeff Brumley Until recently, faith-based disaster-relief agencies continued to rely heavily on e-mail and telephone to coordinate their efforts and communicate their needs to donors and volunteers. But recent disasters in Oklahoma and Texas have seen those agencies rely…
Religious leaders react to BSA decision
By Jeff Brumley Boy Scouts of America on May 23 decided it will no longer deny membership on the basis of sexual orientation. The new policy, which takes effect in January, is already being met with the expected backlash from…
Okla. twister spawns God’s wrath debate
By Jeff Brumley The monstrous twister had barely finished its deadly work in Moore, Okla., on May 20 when the usual voices of judgment and condemnation began echoing across the Internet. Westboro Baptist Church’s Fred Phelps Jr. tweeted that the…
Hobby Lobby case in federal court
By Jeff Brumley A federal appeals court will hear oral arguments May 23 in Hobby Lobby’s claim that the contraception mandate in President Obama’s health-care policies violates its religious freedoms. A federal judge ruled in November 2012 that the company was not…
Twister response goes ecumenical
By Jeff Brumley If the deadly Oklahoma tornado has a silver lining, it may be the ecumenical spirit driving the response and recovery efforts of local churches, local ministers say. Local Baptist and other pastors describe an ongoing, cooperative effort…
More religious freedoms in Cuba?
By Jeff Brumley While the U.S. government reports that religious rights remain greatly restricted in Cuba, a Cooperative Baptist Fellowship official said his own experience is that freedoms are improving on the Communist island. Ray Johnson, coordinator of CBF Florida,…
OKC responders prepare, tell volunteers to wait
By Robert Dilday and Jeff Brumley Baptist churches and individuals eager to help the victims of Monday’s deadly Oklahoma twister are being told to get ready — and to wait. While some faith-based disaster-response agencies are cleared by authorities to…