Donald Trump Jr., one of the nation’s foremost apologists for the win-at-all-costs politics of his father, told an evangelical Christian crowd Dec. 19 that they’ve spent half a century turning the other cheek as Jesus taught and it hasn’t worked…
BNG’s Top 15 most-read news stories for 2021
Religious exemptions to the COVID-19 vaccine, Critical Race Theory and uproars involving the Southern Baptist Convention were among the leading topics of most-read Baptist News Global news stories in 2021. They ranged from SBC pastors calling U.S. Vice President Kamala…
Baptist-Catholic dialogue continues in hybrid format due to pandemic
International ecumenical conversations between the Baptist World Alliance and the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity resumed again in early December, the fourth annual meeting in a five-year series. Although interrupted in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the group…
These Afghan immigrants know firsthand what it’s like to arrive in America, and they want to make life better for the new arrivals
One of the unforgettable images of 2021 is Afghan citizens clinging to a moving plane at the Kabul airport in a desperate bid to escape from the country after the fall of Afghanistan’s government to Taliban fighters. Some of the…
This agency already has resettled 600 Afghan refugees in Houston
In the last several months, the United States has welcomed more than 74,000 Afghans who fled their country after the Taliban seized power in the wake of the U.S. withdrawal of troops from the country. One of the organizations that…
Survey says: More than half of U.S. congregations started new ministries during COVID
Here’s one more silver lining to the dark cloud of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic: “The level of new and intensified social outreach and community ministry undertaken by the nation’s churches is monumental.” So reports the Hartford Institute for Religion Research…
One sweet song came out of COVID: The revival of Polyphony Music Resources
A revived and reconstituted Polyphony Music Resources is working to usher in a renaissance for church musicians and their ministries battered and isolated by the COVID-19 pandemic, the organization’s executive director said. The need has only grown during the return…
Gen Z non-Christians pay most attention to those who live out their faith rather than preach it
Their curiosity about spirituality but disdain for overt proselytizing makes today’s teenagers a challenging group for Christians who want to share their faith with others, new research shows. “According to non-Christian Gen Z, the most appealing evangelism occurs when Christians…
What does the rise of the ‘nones’ have to do with the future of the Republican Party?
America’s shifting demographics portend doom for the modern-day philosophy of the Republican Party, according to a leading social researcher. But democracy still could be “doomed” while waiting for those demographic shifts, according to a national columnist reflecting on the data….
First Baptist Dallas congregation cheers Trump, breaks out into ‘USA!’ chant after he speaks
Donald Trump’s Christmas message to Christians turned out to be more bah-humbug than joy to the world. The former president was invited to speak at First Baptist Church of Dallas on Sunday, Dec. 19, by the church’s pastor, Robert Jeffress….
Once again, immigration reform gets kicked to the curb by Senate
News that the U.S. Senate parliamentarian once again rejected Democratic efforts to include immigration reform in President Biden’s $2 trillion Build Back Better budget proposal elicited deep disappointment from the White House and Capitol Hill. And that was before Sen….
Brazilian Baptist pastor receives death threats after officiating same-sex wedding
A Baptist pastor in Brazil has received violent death threats after performing a wedding ceremony for two women Dec. 11. Although same-sex marriages have been legal in Brazil for a decade, this was believed to be the first Protestant marriage…