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…
Faith-based re-entry saves tax dollars
By Jeff Brumley A Baylor University study shows that faith-based prisoner re-entry programs – at least in one case – help ex-cons, society and taxpayers. The study analyzed the InnerChange Freedom Initiative, a Minnesota program that uses volunteers and private…
Baptists boot scouts from Alaska church
By Jeff Brumley A Baptist congregation in Alaska has booted a local scouting troop because of the Boy Scouts of America decision to welcome openly gay members. The Anchorage Daily News reported that Anchorage Baptist Temple dropped its sponsorship of…
Jordan challenges Christians in new book
By Jeff Brumley In July 2012, author, professor and self-described Clarence Jordan devotee Brian Kaylor was doing research about the late Koinonia Farms founder when he discovered some mysterious boxes in the Jordan archives. When he figured out what was…
Doubt not a sin, says pastor to church hit by murder
By Jeff Brumley The Alabama church whose associate pastor was detained in a murder investigation learned Sunday that it’s OK for Southern Baptists to express anger and sadness and even to harbor doubts about God and faith when faced with…