Two conservative pastors, two different approaches to protesting COVID-19 health restrictions on public gatherings, with two very different outcomes. This is the story of John MacArthur and Mark Dever. Throughout the summer, MacArthur, pastor of Grace Community Church in Los…
William Barber: 100 million eligible voters did not participate in the 2016 general election
Churches must help rally marginalized voters to reverse America’s political and moral decline, activist Bishop William J. Barber II said during the Alliance of Baptists’ online fall gathering Oct. 10. “Galvanizing poor and low-income voters isn’t an act of charity,…
Politics may drive evangelicalism to extinction, Galli says in BNG webinar
Evangelicalism in America is nearing extinction due to the movement’s devotion to politics at the expense of its original calling to share the gospel, according to Mark Galli, former editor-in-chief of Christianity Today. “The evangelicalism that transformed the world is,…
CBF receives $1 million grant from Lilly Endowment
The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship is among 92 organizations receiving new grants from the Lilly Endowment to strengthen Christian congregations and “help people deepen their relationships with God, build strong relationships with each other and contribute to the flourishing of local…
It took nearly an hour to ring bells for everyone who’s died of COVID in the U.S.
Religious leaders in Decatur, Ga., who recently staged an interfaith memorial for the victims of COVID-19 say the experience was emotionally and spiritually healing and demonstrates the need for mourning collectively. “There is something powerful about sharing grief in a…
Transitions for the week of 10-9-20
Please submit transitions — including staff changes, ordinations, anniversaries or deaths — to Barbara Francis. This page will be updated bi-weekly. STAFF CHANGES Tyson Banks, to Broadus Memorial Baptist Church, Mechanicsville, Va., as youth minister. Taylor Elizabeth Bigelow, to Gwathmey Baptist…
Despite forced letter from Trump, agencies distributing USDA food boxes
Millions of boxes of USDA surplus food are being shipped with mandated letters from President Donald Trump asserting his concern to protect the well-being of Americans struggling through the coronavirus pandemic — including recommendations for wearing masks and practicing social…
Baptist layman offers lessons from South Africa on overcoming civil war
Talk of civil war is bandied about by Americans reeling from a pandemic, racial injustice, police brutality and a hate-filled election season. But politically motivated violence is no idle talk to Harold Tessendorf, a conflict management consultant and licensed mediator…
The true story of two immigrants seeking asylum in the U.S. and the pastor who’s helping them
Michael Wangai (not his real name) has been in U.S. immigration “detention” since August 2019. The only crime he has committed is seeking political asylum in the United States with a certainty that if he returns to his home country…
Barna compares pre-pandemic anxiety to today, and you can imagine the results
No doubt Americans faced a bevy of mental health and relationship challenges before the COVID-19 pandemic. But the coronavirus, mounting political drama and escalating racial tensions have dragged the quality of well-being and relationships even lower for lay people and…
CBF Governing Board adopts strategic plan along with budget reduction for 2021
The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s Governing Board adopted a 2021 budget that calls for a 10% reduction in expenditures, which will primarily be achieved by staff adjustments. Meeting in executive session by Zoom conference Oct. 1, the 16-member board adopted a 2021…
Faith-based groups unite to denounce Trump’s further gutting of legal refugee resettlement
An array of American faith-based organizations roundly condemned President Trump’s Sept. 30 decision to limit refugee resettlement in 2021 to no more than 15,000. That would be the lowest level on record, following a year that already brough an 80%…