The case of the praying football coach who hasn’t shown up for the part-time job the U.S. Supreme Court ordered restored to him isn’t as simple as a recent BNG news story portrayed it, according to a publicist and an…
Religion, race and politics are key factors in attitudes on welcoming refugees
Research into American attitudes about welcoming Afghan, Ukrainian and other refugees into the nation confirms how closely religion, race and politics have become intwined in the United States. “For instance, Hispanic evangelicals, Black Protestants and white nonevangelical Protestants are all…
Church-state separation ‘very thin’ with Trump Republicans, Butler says on ‘Meet the Press’
The idea of separation of church and state remains strong in America but it is hanging by a thread, Anthea Butler said this week on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “The idea of it is very strong. The reality of it…
Football coach at center of Supreme Court case hasn’t shown up for the job the court ordered restored to him
Editor’s note: Joseph Kennedy’s publicist and attorney have objected to parts of this article. Their objections are outlined in a follow-up story. Remember the former high school assistant football coach who was so desirous of praying on the 50-yard line…
Confirmed: Greenway out at Southwestern Seminary
This story was updated Friday afternoon, Sept. 23, at 3:30 p.m. Central time. Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary confirmed Friday afternoon, Sept. 23, what BNG first reported Thursday evening, Sept. 22: Adam Greenway resigned as president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary…
‘No one is safer’ because of capital punishment
Capital punishment has proved to be so ineffective at preventing crime that all its supporters have left is the thirst for revenge, a panel of anti-death penalty leaders agreed during a Sept. 21 webinar hosted by the EJUSA Evangelical Network….
CBF mourns passing of visionary Foundation leader Don Durham
A church consultant and former president of the CBF Foundation who left that role in 2010 to manage a farm in rural North Carolina that grew food to give away to community feeding ministries has died of natural causes at…
Four years ago, a Samford study group recommended more conversation on sexuality — and got ignored
A Samford University administrator’s claim that nothing has changed in the university’s approach to excluding churches and ministries that affirm same-sex marriage is infuriating to an alumnus and former staff member who spent a year working on plans for greater…
Transitions for the week of 9-23-22
Please submit transitions — including staff changes, ordinations, anniversaries or deaths — to Barbara Francis. This page will be updated bi-weekly. STAFF CHANGES Faria Armstrong, to First Baptist Church, Burlington, N.C., as associate pastor to youth and families. Paul Bass, to…
The truth won’t make you comfortable, Cosby says in tribute to Claypool
Americans cannot simply continue to enjoy the Civil Rights achievements of the likes of Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, Fannie Lou Hamer and John Lewis without taking up the cause of racial justice themselves, Simmons College of…
Black pastor arrested in Alabama for watering neighbors’ flowers sues city
A pastor watering his neighbor’s flowers wouldn’t normally make national news, but in Childersburg, Ala., such an act of generosity resulted in an arrest and a story on National Public Radio. The story later made The New York Times. Michael…
Abortion ‘abolitionists’ produce documentary accusing the SBC of heresy for not making criminals of women seeking abortions
They’re called “abortion abolitionists,” and their movement is so extreme that it has been rejected by mainstream pro-life groups and the ethics agency of the Southern Baptist Convention. But some pastors at the most far-right edge of the SBC are…