Christians must join efforts to combat the plague of gender-based violence around the world, but not without the church also repenting for its historic and ongoing role in perpetuating abusive attitudes and behaviors toward women, the Baptist World Alliance was…
Despite cease-fire in Tigray, concerns persist about how to tackle the humanitarian problem in the region
With the cessation of hostilities in Tigray, Ethiopia, the attention of many observers now shifts to the humanitarian crisis created by the conflict within and outside the East African country. Eight months of fighting and violence in the multi-lingual and…
Litton names task force to study sexual abuse handling in SBC, including a critic of past actions as an adviser
One of the most outspoken critics of the Southern Baptist Convention’s handling of alleged clergy sexual abuse has been named a special adviser to the seven-member task force mandated by messengers to this summer’s SBC annual meeting. In 2019, Rachael…
Tennessee officials ask for help tracing possible COVID cluster to SBC annual meeting
Participants in the Southern Baptist Convention’s in-person annual meeting in Nashville in mid-June are asked to notify Tennessee health officials if they came down with COVID-19 after attending the enormous gathering. A small but notable cluster of coronavirus infections has…
Seek relationships and rest to be effective in ministry, Baptist World Alliance of Women told
Doing nothing is one of the main ways Karen Wilson, an Australian pastor and president of Baptist World Alliance Women, stays sharp for ministry, she told a virtual gathering of the Baptist World Alliance World Congress. “For me, doing nothing…
Worldwide church needs global approach to mental illness, psychologist says
Baptist churches must work together and with other religious and civic organizations to have a positive impact on the mental illness pandemic that is destroying lives and communities around the world, a Jamaican psychologist said on the opening day of…
SBC and CBF agree on praise for Congress overruling predatory lending policy
The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and the Southern Baptist Convention are among a coalition of faith groups applauding the recent repeal of a government rule that they believe would have expanded predatory lending. Opposition to payday lending and other forms of…
BWA begins World Congress with emphasis on religious freedom for all
The 122nd global gathering of the Baptist World Alliance begins July 8 — a year later than originally planned and online due to the continuing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. BWA announced the virtual version of its three-day World Congress…
Where’s the line between finding inspiration in another pastor’s sermon and plagiarizing it?
“Borrowing” someone else’s sermon is one of the top four ways pastors get fired from churches, according to Thom Rainer, former president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s publishing arm and a noted interpreter of modern Christianity. Rainer made that statement…
Author was called to action by hearing KKK leader describe his racist ‘Damascus Road experience’
Author Susan K. Williams Smith was sickened to learn that a passage from the New Testament inspired Samuel Bowers’ to launch the Mississippi White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1960s. Smith’s new book, With Liberty and Justice…
Amid charges of slippery slope liberalism, Presbyterian Church in America drafts a potent policy against gay clergy
In a scene reminiscent of the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting this summer, pastors and leaders of the Presbyterian Church in America entered their annual meeting last week with letters and endorsements and counter-letters circulating to address what some believe…
Could newly elected SBC president be forced to resign over sermon plagiarism?
Amid charges of sermon plagiarism, newly elected Southern Baptist Convention President Ed Litton is facing calls for his resignation. Litton recently acknowledged borrowing some sermon material, with permission, from immediate past SBC President J.D. Greear, and Greear confirmed that statement….