Americans United for Separation of Church and State has taken a different approach to a U.S. Supreme Court hearing today than its frequent ally, Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty. In the case of Groff v. DeJoy, BJC joined the…
Charles Marsh has a story to tell of evangelical anxiety
Charles Marsh knows something about evangelical anxiety. He grew up in the middle of it as the son of one of the most prominent pastors in the Southern Baptist Convention. The SBC of Marsh’s childhood was the racially tinged Mississippi…
Young BIPOC have not abandoned religious belief, new study finds
Contrary to popular opinion, young people of color have not abandoned religious belief and in fact are praying, meditating, reading Scripture and building sacred fellowship on their own terms, youth ministry expert Megan DeWald said. This reality escapes or frightens…
Jemar Tisby will headline BNG event at CBF General Assembly
Historian and author Jemar Tisby will be the featured speaker at this year’s Baptist News Global gathering during the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship General Assembly. Tisby is a New York Times bestselling author, public historian and professor at Simmons College of…
Alumni and students of Canadian Baptist university call for investigation of sexual harassment claims
Forty-three alumni and students of Crandall University have signed an open letter calling on the board of governors of the Canadian Baptist school to address allegations of sexual harassment on campus. Crandall University was founded in 1949 by the Canadian…
Public funding for private Christian schools gains ground in some states but faces setbacks in Oklahoma and Texas and in U.S. House
The quest to direct public funds to sectarian schools is meeting with mixed results this legislative season, with what would have been the nation’s first religious charter school being denied in Oklahoma, a deeply religious and conservative state. While Florida…
SBC pastor creates Go Fund Me to get abuse survivors to New Orleans convention
A Southern Baptist pastor who is an advocate for victims of sexual abuse has started a Go Fund Me to get abuse survivors to the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in New Orleans this June. As of midnight April 12,…
Broad coalition of religious liberty groups sides with former postal employee
A veritable who’s who of religious groups have filed joint friend-of-the-court briefs in a U.S. Supreme Court case involving a Christian postal worker claiming religious discrimination by having to work Sundays to deliver Amazon packages. Baptist Joint Committee for Religious…
‘High moral values’ group touts Trump as keynote speaker
An Iowa group that says it stands for “integrity in government, high moral values, constitutional authority and Christian principles” will host Donald Trump as a keynote speaker at its upcoming spring meeting. The Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition, formerly known…
Transitions for the week of 4-14-23
Please submit transitions — including staff changes, ordinations, anniversaries or deaths — to Barbara Francis. This page will be updated bi-weekly. STAFF CHANGES Bryan Crouch, to Lynn Haven Baptist Church, Vinton, Va., as lead pastor. He has served there since 2004…
New book on Kentucky’s oldest Baptist association finds the more things change, the more they stay the same
A recent book about the first Baptists in Kentucky reveals present-day Baptists face many of the challenges that vexed their 18th and 19th century ancestors, Aaron Coyle-Carr said during an online discussion presented by Baptist History and Heritage Society. “The…
Lighthouse Congregations guide individuals who want to ‘stay UMC’
Piercing the gloom of multiple churches leaving the United Methodist Church, a light emanating from North Carolina brightens the present and shines on a new future for church members who want to stay in the denomination when their congregations vote…