With their album The Preacher’s Kid, Semler was the first openly queer Christian artist to climb to No. 1 album on the Christian music charts just last year. Within the same year, Semler released a second No. 1 album titled…
A friend defends Matt Chandler, the elders issue a statement, and nothing else is any clearer
If you thought the Matt Chandler situation couldn’t get more peculiar, guess again. Chandler’s Aug. 28 announcement that he would take an indefinite leave of absence from preaching and teaching at The Village Church north of Dallas has generated endless…
An entire city with no water doesn’t fit the playbook for disaster relief organizations
When the capital city of Mississippi had no running water for an entire week, government agencies came to the rescue with water distribution outlets, but some of the major faith-based disaster relief organizations were nowhere to be found. Why? The…
He served on the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board, and now he’s rallying conservatives to oppose the death penalty
A former member of the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board has helped launch a new anti-death penalty group to educate fellow conservatives and lobby state lawmakers about the flaws of capital punishment. The new branch of Conservatives Concerned About the…
Pandemic exposed injustices, but those lessons are fading away, research shows
The realities of racial, economic and gender injustice exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic began to fade from consciousness only a year later, according to researcher Eileen Campbell-Reed. During the first two years of the coronavirus outbreak, the Baptist theologian and…
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…
Kansas school district gives $95,000 to teacher who violated its own policies on student names and gender
A Kansas middle school teacher who refused to call transgender or nonbinary students by their preferred names and pronouns has been financially rewarded for her defiance of school district policy — by the school district. Teacher Pamela Ricard will get…
GenZ South Africans remix tech, African spiritualism and church
They are Gen-Z Black South Africans, highly educated, raised in typical “Christian homes,” but now flipping the script. Via aggressive use of Instagram, Twitter and YouTube, they’re re-inventing themselves as entrepreneurial “Afro-spiritualist” healers, fortune readers or dream interpreters. It’s all…
A view from the drought: How climate change and hunger and the war in Ukraine are conspiring against life in Africa
In many parts of the world today, two major issues of concern are the rising cost of goods and services, and the scarcity of food. The inflationary aspect is in part connected to the war in Ukraine and the crisis…
Faison nominated to lead Virginia convention
For the first time in its 200-year history, the Baptist General Association of Virginia could be led by someone other than a white male. The BGAV Executive Board Aug. 30 nominated Wayne D. Faison for election as the state Baptist…
As the third consecutive woman to preside over CBF, Debbie McDaniel is just as surprised as anyone else
As the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s new moderator, Debbie McDaniel said she wants women and girls to know they have a place in Baptist life, whether as ordained or lay leaders. “I want girls to know you and I are both…
At nearly 90, Charles Stanley makes half a million a year and his ministry is awash in cash
Editor’s update: Charles Stanley died April 18 at age 90. Read his obituary here. If you’re worried about Charles Stanley being destitute in his old age, worry no more. He’ll turn 90 years of age on Sept. 25 and…