The current struggle over Texas’ strict anti-abortion law perplexes many United Methodists who thought the issue of reproductive choice had been decided. Now they’re finding themselves back where clergy coalitions were in the 1960s and ’70s, seeking to support women…
Judge says New York must offer option of religious exemptions to vaccine mandate even if exemptions aren’t granted
New York employers do not have to grant religious exemptions to the state’s COVID-19 vaccination mandate, but the option to seek a religious exemption must be offered, a federal judge indicated Oct. 12. U.S. District Judge David N. Hurd issued…
Transitions for the week of 10-15-21
Please submit transitions — including staff changes, ordinations, anniversaries or deaths — to Barbara Francis. This page will be updated bi-weekly. STAFF CHANGES Mike Anderson, to Springwood Baptist Church, Buchanan, Va., as interim pastor. Lonnie Brawley, concluding his tenure as pastor…
CBF state organizations in Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi to merge
Cooperative Baptist Fellowship state organizations in Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi have voted to merge into a single regional organization in a process facilitated by CBF leaders. “Our coordinating councils have all unanimously approved this and in each of our separate…
What seemed like an odd motion at the June SBC meeting now appears prescient
Lost among the big headlines of the June Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting — headlines about creation of a Sexual Abuse Task Force, a hotly contested presidential election and resolutions on Critical Race Theory and abortion — was a consequential…
White supremacy permeates U.S. life, scholar says
The issue of white supremacy in the United States is not confined to people of the past who spewed racial hatred, researcher and author Robert P. Jones told a Baptist gathering in Kentucky. “When most white people hear the word…
Amid the pandemic and racial reckoning, most Americans give clergy high marks
A majority of Americans, churchgoing or otherwise, believe pastors are trustworthy and aware of the challenges faced by their local communities, new research by Barna shows. Among U.S. adults, 59% either “disagreed strongly” or “somewhat disagreed” that local clergy are…
In praise of Shiprah and Puah and all their descendants
The Bible is full of women heroes, exemplars of courage. We do not give them attention, and very few end up in the stained-glass windows. Two of these heroes are Shiphrah and Puah, Hebrew midwives in Egypt during the Hebrews’…
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…
SBC’s legal counsel quits in protest of Executive Committee waiving privilege in sexual abuse investigation
One week after the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee voted to follow the will of convention messengers over the advice of its legal counsel and waive attorney-client privilege for a sexual abuse investigation, its longtime legal counsel gave notice it…
CBF Oklahoma prepares to welcome influx of Afghan refugees
The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Oklahoma will participate in an unfolding interfaith effort to welcome 1,800 Afghan evacuees expected to arrive in the Sooner state by the end of the year, Coordinator Kyle Tubbs said. “We will absolutely be involved…
More adults than ever are unpartnered in their prime years, new research shows
If you look around your congregation and realize there are a lot more young and middle-aged single adults than there used to be, you’re not alone. It’s a national trend. New data from Pew Research finds a sharp uptick over…