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…
Homeland Security asks for ideas on how to prevent future family separations at border
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is asking Americans for ideas on how to prevent the future separation of migrant families at the southern border. This controversial practice of the Trump administration ripped thousands of immigrant children from their parents…
Baylor joins the nation’s academic elite as a Research 1 university
Baylor University achieved one of its biggest long-term goals Dec. 16 when it was named a Research 1 university by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. The R1 ranking, as it is known in academic circles, places the…
CBF, ABCUSA, Lott Carey and others assessing needs for long-term tornado relief work
State and national Cooperative Baptist Fellowship organizations are raising funds and planning long-term recovery operations in response to the tornadoes that rampaged across the Midwest and South over the weekend, killing nearly 90 people, including at least 74 in Kentucky….
Trump will visit First Baptist Dallas this Sunday while on ‘History Tour’ with Bill O’Reilly
Just days after a new tell-all book explained that former President Donald Trump’s June 2020 photo op at St. John’s Church near the White House was his daughter’s idea, Trump has announced where he’ll be this year the Sunday morning…
Transitions for the week of 12-17-21
Please submit transitions — including staff changes, ordinations, anniversaries or deaths — to Barbara Francis. This page will be updated bi-weekly. STAFF CHANGES Chalice Avery, to Duke Divinity School, Durham, N.C., as one of the directors of To Heal the Wounded…