LAKELAND, Fla. (RNS)—As many congregations grapple with declining contributions, some faith communities are following the lead of cash-strapped corporations by laying off employees. But the stakes are higher, congregational leaders say, when you’re putting someone’s spiritual leader out on the…
Economic woes give churches a reason to go green
WASHINGTON (RNS)—Mary Miller used to have trouble getting fellow members of Wilmore United Methodist Church in Kentucky to go green. But as it turns out, a sour economy was an unlikely answer to prayer. As the economy shrank, so did…
Lecturer says Bible shaped MLK’s ‘beloved community’
ABILENE, Texas (ABP) — The “beloved community” — an ideal that shaped the American civil rights movement — was built upon the Bible, Emmanuel McCall stressed during the annual Maston Lectures at Hardin-Simmons University’s Logsdon School of Theology. McCall, founding…
Lecturer cites food-related themes in Jesus’ ethical teaching
ABILENE, Texas (ABP) — Jesus taught important ethical lessons while dining, Emmanuel McCall told participants at the Logsdon School of Theology’s annual Maston Lectures. “Some of his most profound lessons were food-related,” said McCall, vice president of the Baptist World…
Authorities expose blogger who has been hounding FBC Jacksonville
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (ABP) — The sheriff of Jacksonville, Fla., is defending actions of a detective who obtained a subpoena to learn the identity of an anonymous blogger critical of the pastor of the church where the detecive is a longtime…
Violence mars Easter in northern Nigeria
MINA, Nigeria (ABP) — Easter Sunday turned violent in two cities in Nigeria’s northern state of Niger, when young people presumed to be fundamentalist Muslims burned churches in Gwada, while Christian young people in the state capital of Mina defended…
BOOK REVIEW: ‘Hardball Religion’ by Wade Burleson
(ABP) — Hardball Religion is the personal story of Oklahoma pastor Wade Burleson and the two tumultuous years he served as a trustee of the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. Subtitled Feeling the Fury of Fundamentalism, Burleson’s…
Violence mars Easter in northern Nigeria
MINA, Nigeria (ABP) — Easter Sunday turned violent in two cities in Nigeria's northern state of Niger, when young people presumed to be fundamentalist Muslims burned churches in Gwada, while Christian young people in the state capital of Mina defended…
Former SBC president Franklin Paschall dies
Franklin Paschall was pastor of First Baptist Church in Nashville 1956-1983 and SBC president 1966-68. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) — Two past presidents of the Southern Baptist Convention paid tribute to a third — Franklin Paschall, longtime pastor of First Baptist…
At Longwood University, Baptist students promise ‘No Judging’
FARMVILLE – Longwood University’s students and faculty returned from spring break last month to find their campus peppered with a welcomed but anonymous message – thanks to the school’s Baptist collegiate ministries. Small signs with the word “judging” inside a…
Former SBC president Franklin Paschall dies
Franklin Paschall was pastor of First Baptist Church in Nashville 1956-1983 and SBC president 1966-68. NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) — Two past presidents of the Southern Baptist Convention paid tribute to a third — Franklin Paschall, longtime pastor of First Baptist…
Saying ‘no’ to church doesn’t mean not attending
I would like to respond to Tom Ehrich’s “2nd Opinion” piece, “Saying no to Sunday church,” that appeared in the April 9 edition of the Religious Herald. I was initially intrigued by his thesis that people are saying no to…