Johnny Hunt has spoken at the Southern Baptist Pastors’ Conference nearly twice as frequently as any other person in the last two decades. The once-disgraced and now controversially “restored” pastor has spoken at the annual preach-a-thon 14 times since 2000…
Haynes to succeed Jackson as leader of Rainbow PUSH Coalition
Dallas pastor Frederick Douglass Haynes III has been named successor to Jesse Jackson as president of the Rainbow PUSH Coalition. Haynes has served as pastor at Friendship-West Baptist Church in Dallas for 40 years, a role he will continue. The…
J.D. Greear calls on Southern Baptists to slow down on constitutional amendment
A recent president of the Southern Baptist Convention published a 3,500-word explanation of why he believes the so-called “Law Amendment” is unwise, even though he personally agrees with the theology behind it. That amendment, proposed by Virginia pastor Mike Law,…
There is no center
Some among us want you to believe they represent the “center” politically or theologically — or both. Which causes me to ask: The center of what? This mythical center is wielded as a means of saying to others: “You’re an…
Duggar in-law preaches that slavery was abolished after Blacks ‘humbled themselves’
A Baptist church in Texas has issued a clarification after the father-in-law of the pastor preached that Black slaves “humbled themselves” and prayed, turning “from their wicked ways,” which led to their freedom through “several white presidents.” Mike Keller, who…
Oklahoma superintendent of schools says Tulsa Race Massacre wasn’t due to color of anyone’s skin
This story was updated July 7 to include new comments from Ryan Walters. It’s OK to teach Oklahoma schoolchildren about the Tulsa Race Massacre, just don’t tell them it was motivated by the color of anyone’s skin, the state…
A word of thanks for associate pastors
I never assume people know who I am, even though I’m more well-known than I deserve in the circles we travel in. That’s not entirely new to this role as executive director of Baptist News Global. In my previous life,…
American Baptists reaffirm and celebrate women in ministry
Editor’s note: This article has been expanded and updated from its original version. The board of directors of American Baptist Home Mission Societies issued a statement June 24 saying it “wholeheartedly affirms women pastors.” And last week’s biennial meeting…
High court unanimously seeks a compromise on religious accommodation in the workplace
In a rare unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court June 29 found a compromise on a thorny religious liberty claim: What constitutes “undue hardship” on an employer required to accommodate a worker’s religious practices? Rather than unwinding legal precedent —…