It doesn’t take a Ph.D. in psychology to determine that months of social and political strife combined with a deadly pandemic have negatively impacted mental health nationwide. In fact, it takes only a brief Google search to learn that just…
Judge issues COVID restraining order against defiant MacArthur and church
In a case that combines the global pandemic with the grievances of religious conservatives that they face persecution, a California Superior Court judge on Sept. 10 issued a temporary restraining order against Pastor John MacArthur and Grace Community Church in…
Baylor engineering students hope to design aid for notable alumna
A group of Baylor University engineering students is working to design a medical device for Allison Dickson, a Temple, Texas, resident with a rare and progressive form of muscular dystrophy. Dickson, 40, who uses an electric wheelchair she nicknamed the…
Transitions for the week of 9-11-20
Please submit transitions — including staff changes, ordinations, anniversaries or deaths — to Barbara Francis. This page will be updated bi-weekly. STAFF CHANGES Jay Abernathy, to First Baptist Church, Woodville, Texas, as pastor. He comes from First Baptist Church, Lubbock, Texas,…
Collaborative plan emerging for Hurricane Laura relief work
Collaboration between two Baptist organizations has resulted in a plan for long-term disaster recovery work in Lake Charles, La., the coastal community devastated by Hurricane Laura Aug. 27. Leaders with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and National Baptist Convention of America…
New podcast illuminates crisis in the Catholic Church
Revelations in the summer of 2018 that Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, a high-ranking and well-known cleric in the U.S. Catholic Church, had abused minors and seminarians throughout his career ignited a firestorm of turmoil. A grand jury report that same summer…
Court extends protections for transgender students in public schools
Seemingly lost amid a holiday weekend, a global pandemic and a presidential election, a federal appeals court ruled Aug. 26 that federal protections banning sex discrimination in public schools include protections for transgender students. In a 2-to-1 ruling, the United…
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…
Program connects rural pastors for fellowship and education
A group of rural ministers is nearing completion of a fellowship designed to widen their perspectives on faith, church and their own ministries. “It caused me to take a hard look at myself,” Leonard Edloe said of the Fellowship for…
Federal judge flunks DeVos effort to divert relief funds to private schools
For the third time in two weeks, an attempt by Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos to divert federal coronavirus relief funds from public schools to private schools has been stopped by court order. Federal District Court Judge Dabney L. Friedrich…
Encourager Church program thriving despite pandemic
Trinity Baptist Church in Seneca, S.C., hasn’t let a pandemic get in the way of deepening its commitment to missions. The congregation is leaning into its Encourager Church relationship with Cooperative Baptist Fellowship field personnel Scarlette Jasper in Kentucky and…
Q&A with Christen Green Kinard on pandemic church communications
Christen Green Kinard says she has no formal religious education, but as the child of career missionaries, she knows the right things to educate churches about their online ministry during the pandemic. Kinard is a communications professional and daughter of…