By Jeff Brumley While plans have yet to be made by two churches who bet a mission trip on the BCS championship game, the pastors of the two Cooperative Baptist congregations say the wager’s impact is already producing spiritual fruits….
Baptist chaplain sees spiritual lessons in 100K race
By Jeff Brumley It would seem like Air Force Maj. Chuck Seligman got all the danger and excitement he needed from several combat deployments and more than 20 years in uniform. But then there was the belt buckle they give…
Churches, CBF respond to NC collegiate ministry shifts
By Jeff Brumley Cooperative Baptist congregations in Western North Carolina and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina are expanding their influence on college campuses just as huge financial and cultural shifts make campus ministries one of the riskiest and…
Baptists eye catechism (again) to instruct the faithful
By Jeff Brumley There may just be an ancient solution to the modern church’s problems of decreasing attendance and rising religious illiteracy in a post-modern culture turned off by denominational brand names, some leading Baptist scholars and educators say. The…
Discerning what is – and isn’t – persecution
By Jeff Brumley In America, a reality TV star gets suspended for controversial remarks on race and homosexuality and conservative Christians claim victim and martyr status in the media. In Egypt, churches are torched by Islamic mobs and those Christians…
Divine devices or digital distractions?
By Jeff Brumley Alan Rudnick never was a fan of bringing phones into church sanctuaries and never did so himself — until about a year ago. That’s when he discovered bona fide uses for electronic devices during worship services at…
CBF churches scrimmage over BCS game
By Jeff Brumley Two Cooperative Baptist churches — one in Alabama, the other in Florida — are embroiled in a social media rivalry over college football that’s making headlines and inspiring mission work. It all started Tuesday when Bill Shiell, the senior pastor at…
Hispanic tapped as CBF Florida moderator
By Jeff Brumley Ruben Ortiz has a passion for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship that goes beyond issues of polity and shared spiritual values. For him, the connections are personal and deeply emotional and were solidified in 2009. That was the…
Critics: ‘Duck Dynasty’ star no role model
By Jeff Brumley The volcanic controversy surrounding “Duck Dynasty” star Phil Robertson has been a double-whammy for moderate and progressive Christians. First there is the anti-gay, pro-Jim Crow GQ magazine interview with Robertson, a professed Christian, which ignited the controversy on…