“This is our 1933,” Robert P. Jones told the FaithWorks “Compassion and Justice” conference Feb. 20 in Austin, Texas. Jones, founder and president of Public Religion Research Institute, was a keynote speaker at the event held at Riverbend Church. FaithWorks,…
Proctor Conference marks leadership transition
Tears flowed and applause resounded as the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference marked its first-ever leadership transition at the annual gathering in Chicago Feb. 23. Iva E. Carruthers, who was the founding general secretary of the nonprofit, has taken on emeritus…
‘If you want to honor my father, then do what he did’
“If you want to honor my father, then do what he did,” Jonathan L. Jackson told the opening session of the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference in Chicago Feb. 23. The son of Civil Rights leader Jesse Jackson brought the crowd…
Organizer says Latino pastors struggle after voting for Trump
Faced with deportations of their church members, some Latino pastors who voted for Donald Trump in 2024 now regret their choice, according to Agustin Quiles. The president and founder of Mission Talk, an organization that mobilizes Latino evangelicals to shape…
Supreme Court won’t hear McRaney’s appeal
The U.S. Supreme Court has denied Will McRaney’s final effort to hold the Southern Baptist Convention North American Mission Board responsible for his 2015 firing as executive director of the Baptist Convention of Maryland and Delaware. In a legal battle…
More details emerge about dissent at First Baptist Orlando
A number of members of the Horizon West campus of First Baptist Church of Orlando continue to express alarm over the way the church’s three senior pastors have treated their campus pastor and a campus worship leader. Since publishing an…
Texan plans to turn Epstein ranch into Christian retreat
Jeffrey Epstein’s Zorro Ranch in New Mexico has been bought by an ultra-conservative Texas businessman and politician who plans to convert it into a Christian retreat center. Albuquerque TV station KRQE reported Feb. 17 that Don Huffines now owns the…
A high-profile conservative Southern Baptist becomes Catholic
A former high-profile leader of the “conservative resurgence” in the Southern Baptist Convention has become a Roman Catholic. Jerry Johnson first came to public attention in 1990 when as a 25-year-old pastor he was elected a trustee of Southern Baptist…
Update: TPUSA event at First Baptist Orlando appears to be canceled
Turning Point USA apparently has canceled First Baptist Church of Orlando as a stop on its “Make Heaven Crowded” tour. BNG reported Tuesday morning that a campus pastor had been placed on administrative leave after questioning the church hosting the…
Orlando pastor on leave after questioning TPUSA ‘revival’
A campus pastor at First Baptist Orlando has been placed on administrative leave and a worship leader reportedly has resigned because they opposed the decision to host Turning Point USA’s “Make Heaven Crowded” tour next week. The Florida megachurch is…
Burge says this is why nondenoms have advantage over SBC
Nondenominational churches will continue to have an advantage over Southern Baptist churches because their members are younger and more ethnically diverse, predicts religion data analyst Ryan Burge. In a new Substack post titled, “Those Nondenoms are Just Southern Baptists, Right? ”…
Protests lead owner not to sell Texas warehouse to ICE
Yet another of the planned ICE mega-detention facilities has fallen through, with the property owner refusing to sell a Hutchins, Texas, warehouse for the Trump administration’s planned use. BNG was the first national news outlet to report on the location…