Amid all the headlines about the Southern Baptist Convention’s stance against women in ministry last week, other actions that would have made headlines in a normal year fell from view. Two such actions came in the form of resolutions among…
Transitions for the week of 6-23-23
Please submit transitions — including staff changes, ordinations, anniversaries or deaths — to Barbara Francis. This page will be updated bi-weekly. STAFF CHANGES Nick Boden, to First Baptist Church, Carrollton, Ga., as organist. Most recently he was organist for Peachtree Presbyterian…
Belmont says no to Promise Keepers after warning of ‘mutilated bodies’ in anti-trans post
Spreading “biblical” hate speech about transgender people apparently got Promise Keepers booted from using a venue at Belmont University for a fall event. Although details are sketchy and contested, the bottom line appears to be that the evangelical men’s organization…
Russell Dilday, Baptist statesman
Russell H. Dilday, whose tenure as president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, saw the school’s endowment more than double while leading the seminary to it its greatest period of growth but who was fired in 1994…
Another study shows majority of Americans want to protect LGBTQ people from discrimination
A majority of Americans oppose using religious beliefs to deny employment, medical care and business services to LGBTQ people, a new survey shows. The study even found most religiously active people disprove of such discrimination based on sexual preference or…
At this Baptist gathering, there will be no debate about women preaching
The national media won’t be on hand, and there aren’t likely to be hot debates over women in ministry when the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship gathers in Atlanta next week for its General Assembly. The largest of two breakaway groups from…
Opposition to death penalty gaining steam through broad coalition
America’s anti-capital punishment movement is growing in political, religious and racial diversity even as the nation continues to fracture along partisan lines, a leading death penalty abolitionist said. “It does feel hopeful to work on this issue because we work…
At Juneteenth vigil, Alliance of Baptists called to move from celebration to action
Juneteenth observances must go beyond celebrating the emancipation of enslaved people to calling out modern forms of white supremacy that continue to oppress people of color, speakers said during a June 19 online vigil hosted by the Alliance of Baptists….
Passage of anti-homosexuality bill in Uganda rattles LGBTQ community in Kenya
As the LGBTQ community in Africa reacted to the strident new anti-homosexuality bill adopted in Uganda, attention quickly shifted to Kenya, where a similar bill with different nomenclature recently was tabled for consideration in Parliament. On April 7, George Peter…
New methods and legislation increase options — and questions — with our last remains
You may not be able to choose when or how you die, but you have many choices when it comes to taking care of your bodily remains, as new technologies and laws multiply the options and the ethical questions involved….
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…
One new book tells kids the story Juneteenth, while another tells adults why Juneteenth matters
When Dorena Williamson was asked to write a children’s book on the importance of Juneteenth, she knew it was a huge task to pull off, not just because of the topic but because of the timeline. This year, our country…