The founder of a respected evangelical polling company now works as a senior fellow with one of the most partisan evangelical advocacy groups in Washington, D.C. Although the Barna Group, which he founded in 1984 as Barna Research, still bears…
Voting the wrong way makes Christians ‘unfaithful’ to God, Mohler says
Christians who fail to vote or who vote “wrongly” are “unfaithful” to God, Al Mohler told a group of conservative evangelicals Sept. 14. The president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., and a leading spokesman for Southern Baptists…
100 clergy who are Samford grads urge president to reverse exclusionary policy
More than 100 clergy who are alumni of Samford University have signed an open letter to university President Beck Taylor asking for a reversal of the school’s new policy to exclude from campus ministries churches that affirm same-sex marriage. “We…
Samford doubles down on LGBTQ exclusion, claiming nothing has changed, which some alumni say is a lie
Editor’s note: On Tuesday, Sept. 13, BNG sent two separate requests to appropriate media relations staff members of Samford University seeking a response to the events described in this article and two previous articles. As of this publication, three days…
Samford, how long will you remain silent?
It is difficult to fathom the ineptitude that would cause a top-tier Christian university to become so blinded to its rightwing constituency that it throws away decades of ecumenical goodwill and then doesn’t even have the wherewithal to acknowledge what…
ERLC hires former Republican Party leader to head SBC agency
A former executive director of the Tennessee Republican Party has been named to lead the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. Brent Leatherwood, who has been serving as interim president, was elected to the official post in a…
Samford University excludes Presbyterians and Episcopalians
Last fall, Samford University made national headlines for disinviting historian Jon Meacham to speak on campus in response to protests from pro-life activists. Less than one year later, the Baptist university again finds itself in national news, this time for…
‘No one has done more for Christianity than Donald Trump,’ his son declares
“There’s no one who’s done more for Christianity than Donald Trump. No one.” So says the former president’s son Eric Trump, who made the bold comment at Freedom Fest in Morningview, Ky., Saturday, Sept. 10. Donald Trump’s eldest son, Donald…
Duke Divinity professor will become first Black president of Fuller Seminary
A Black Baptist has been named president of the nondenominational Fuller Seminary, marking the first time the school will be led by anyone other than a white male and the third time a Baptist will take the helm. David Emmanuel…
48-year-old pastor ‘retires’ from Texas megachurch, citing failing health, but will become a vice president at NAMB
The 48-year-old pastor of one of the largest churches in the Southern Baptist Convention told his congregation Sept. 11 he will “retire” as their pastor due to serious health problems but will continue his ministry as vice president for church…
What the color chart teaches us about surviving in a ‘purple’ church
What follows is a real-life, real-time text report coming to me last Sunday morning from a young adult I know who was in attendance at one of the largest Southern Baptist churches in America. Please keep in mind, this was…
It’s not ‘I shall overcome’ but ‘we shall overcome,’ Kamala Harris tells National Baptists
“When people of faith come together, anything is possible. Everything is possible. That is the power of faith,” U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris told the National Baptist Convention USA in a keynote address Sept. 8. Harris, who is a Baptist, spoke to…