A federal lawsuit that combines questions of religious liberty, defamation and the meaning of Baptist autonomy has been appealed to the United States Supreme Court. The Southern Baptist Convention’s North American Mission Board, the defendant in the original 2017 case,…
With Invictus Howard Goodall tells Christ’s Passion mainly through texts written by women
When Howard Goodall set out to write a fresh choral work on the Passion of Christ, he knew full well the giants who had trod this ground before, especially the ever-present Johann Sebastian Bach. Yet he also knew the overwhelming…
Biden reestablishes Faith-based Partnerships Office and names Melissa Rogers to lead it
A familiar face to Baptist religious liberty advocates has been named to lead the newly reconstituted White House Office of Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships. Melissa Rogers will lead the office, an appointment announced by President Joe Biden on Sunday morning,…
Amid pandemic and other distractions, Americans not paying as much attention to immigration policy
While being against immigration was a key component of Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign and being for immigration was a key component of Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential campaign, the pandemic has taken Americans’ minds off the immigration debate as a…
Alliance of Baptists chooses restitution and redemption from thief who stole $20,000
The Alliance of Baptists was the victim of a $20,000 theft but chose to follow the biblical admonition to “turn the other cheek” in a redemptive way. The Baptist network’s executive committee released a statement on social media Feb. 9…
Plans for a new Logsdon Seminary in San Antonio announced
A group of Hardin-Simmons University alumni, former faculty and friends have announced plans to launch a freestanding Logdson Theological Seminary in San Antonio, Texas, and they are seeking the blessing of university trustees for their effort. Those same trustees voted…
What we’ve lost
The losses we’ve experienced due to coronavirus are both horribly easy to count — 465,000 dead in the United States alone — and yet invisibly painful. Especially for communities of faith, the relational losses often go unreported. Yet in conversation…
Supreme Court again overturns COVID restrictions on houses of worship
In a sign of how long the coronavirus pandemic has gone on, the United States Supreme Court has been dealt enough cases on church closures during the pandemic now to have reversed itself and splintered further in its own opinions….
White Christian nationalists and Black Americans find common ground in vaccine wariness while some pastors try to set a positive example
Two communities seemingly at odds with each other are among the groups of Americans most likely to be skeptical of the new COVID-19 vaccines: Christian nationalists and Black Americans. The reasons why each group is skeptical are different, but the…