As universities nationwide seek to diversify their student bodies — sometimes against the backdrop of political mandates not to talk about diversity and equity — one Baptist school in the Deep South continues to succeed year after year. Fall enrollment…
Look for battles over transgender care for minors to accelerate in 2024
“At least 510 anti-LGBTQ bills were introduced in state legislatures across the United States last year — a new record, according to American Civil Liberties Union data as of Dec. 21. That’s nearly three times the number of such bills introduced in…
Baptist scholar speaking and writing about her experience in psychedelics trials
When Baptist scholar Jaime Clark-Soles agreed to participate in a 2017 Johns Hopkins University study on the effects of psychedelics on spirituality, her friends and colleagues didn’t have the same vision she did. “I got, ‘Don’t do it,’ ‘It’s terrible,’…
Three educators push back against Florida law targeting trans and nonbinary teachers
Three educators have filed suit against Florida over a 2023 law permitting the decertification and termination of nonbinary and transgender teachers who use preferred pronouns and titles in the performance of their jobs. The Southern Poverty Law Center and its…
Baptist educator receives Order of the Rising Sun from Japanese government
Decades in Japan revealed Gary Barkley’s approach to evangelism was better suited for Japanese culture than for the Southern Baptist Convention, which appointed him as a teaching missionary to the island nation in 1984. “I always felt it was my…
Ministry jobs and more
Baptist News Global provides a free listing of ministry-related jobs for Baptist churches, theological institutions and organizations across the United States. Each free posting is for 30 days and is limited to 150 words. Postings may be extended another 30…
Confidential settlement reached in Pressler sexual abuse case
A confidential settlement has been reached in the lawsuit accusing prominent Southern Baptist figure Paul Pressler of sexually abusing a teenage member of his Houston church multiple times beginning in 1977, the Texas Tribune reported Dec. 29. Duane Rollins filed…
Bishop Barber denied disability accommodations at AMC theater in North Carolina, escorted out by police
The day after Christmas, minister, social activist and former chair of the North Carolina NAACP Bishop William J. Barber II was asked to leave an AMC movie theater in Greenville, N.C., after being told he could not sit in a…
Little Rock church hired Josh Duggar’s lawyer then reversed course after lay leaders protest
It has been less than three weeks since the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette broke the story of a Little Rock church’s failure to notify members of alleged sexual abuse of minors, and the story continues to take twists and turns. The latest…
Top news stories in 2023 were about Charles Stanley, women in ministry and fracturing of UMC
A 2022 story about the wealth of televangelist Charles Stanley drew more readership than any other Baptist News Global news article this year — outpacing even the later story of his death. Women in ministry, including the expulsion of Rick…
Courtney B. Vance and Robin Smith want to help Black men thrive
It’s been said that COVID-19 was the great divider in our country. However, the pandemic brought together actor Courtney B. Vance and author Robin B. Smith to write about another health crisis. In their new book, The Invisible Ache, the…
Most-read analysis pieces addressed patriarchy, complementarianism, LGBTQ inclusion and Christian nationalism
The most-read Baptist News Global analysis pieces in 2023 focused on patriarchy and complementarianism, LGBTQ inclusion, fundamentalism and Christian nationalism. Personalities like Amy Grant, Greg Locke, John MacArthur, Rick Warren and Karen Swallow Prior were among the leading personalities featured…