Activists involved in the 2012 abolition of capital punishment in Connecticut say the perspectives of murder victims’ families was the key element in their campaign’s success. Even Michael Lawlor, the state’s criminal justice “czar” at the time, confirmed that those…
What’s next for recommendations and reforms in SBC sexual abuse study?
The very thing Southern Baptist leaders have said for decades cannot be done tops the list of recommended actions from the independent firm that investigated allegations of mishandling sexual abuse cases. Guidepost Solutions says the Southern Baptist Convention should “form…
Guidepost report documents pattern of ignoring, denying and deflecting on sexual abuse claims in SBC
A few key leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee repeatedly worked to stall, deny and control information about sexual abuse within the nation’s largest non-Catholic denomination, according to an independent investigation released Sunday, May 22. And almost coincidentally…
Author considers how to mourn what’s lost when the faithful leave church
The rise of Trumpism in U.S. churches and denominations is accelerating Americans’ disconnection from faith communities and leaving many bewildered and grief-stricken, according to the author of a new book about the psychology and hope of religious trauma. Leaving church…
As joblessness rocks South Africa, fake pastor diplomas are in demand
Chuggy’s dim bedroom has a tiny table, copies of “important documents” and what he calls his “cash tools.” They are a Lenovo laptop, laminator, printer, forgery stamps and boxes of blank paper. He works from the underworld, printing fake theology…
Why breaking up is so hard to do for United Methodists: Connectionalism
Why is it so hard for dissident church units to leave the 12-million-member worldwide United Methodist Church? The ties that bind United Methodists together are contained in one arcane word: “connectionalism.” The concept of connectionalism was confirmed May 9 when…
Oklahoma legislators say life begins at ‘fertilization’
Oklahoma legislators appear to know the exact answer to a question that has vexed doctors and theologians for centuries: When does life begin? According to a controversial bill adopted by the Oklahoma Legislature May 19, life begins at fertilization. “If…
Baptists in Ukraine continue their humanitarian work amid devastation
Baptist church planters and their congregations in Ukraine have been at the forefront of providing physical and spiritual ministry to Ukrainians displaced, surrounded or occupied by invading Russian forces. “A great number of Christian churches and humanitarian organizations from around…
Louisville police training quoted Bible verse to say officers are God’s agents of wrath
The police department that wrongly shot Breonna Taylor dead in her own apartment in 2020 had trained its officers just three years earlier that they are avengers who carry out “God’s wrath on the wrongdoer.” New reporting by the Louisville,…
Transitions for the week of 5-20-22
Please submit transitions — including staff changes, ordinations, anniversaries or deaths — to Barbara Francis. This page will be updated bi-weekly. STAFF CHANGES Jennifer Campbell, to First Baptist Church, Washington, D.C., as minister to youth and families. Casey Carlton, to Blackwood…
‘It’s still the economy, stupid’
Think what you will about the raging culture wars, but that’s not the major driver of public opinion today any more than it was when Bill Clinton first ran for president in 1992. That’s when Clinton campaign analyst James Carville…
Pennsylvania Baptist church licenses transgender man for ministry
A recent lay ministry licensing ceremony capped a multi-year ordeal for Joel Dugan, a 63-year-old transgender man who overcame the rejection of a Baptist association to live into his calling to serve his church and the LGBTQ community. The feeling…