First Baptist Church in Decatur, Georgia — a flagship Cooperative Baptist Fellowship congregation kicked out of the Georgia Baptist Convention in 2009 for calling a woman as pastor – has been excommunicated by the Atlanta Metro Baptist Association because of homosexuality.
Logsdon Seminary closure prompts mourning and protests (updated)
An announcement late Friday that Hardin-Simmons University is closing its Logsdon Seminary surprised faculty, raised questions and prompted protests from students, alumni and friends.
Why infant baptism won’t impede Baptist-Methodist cooperation in Texas
“But with this kind of dialogue we are not going to see change in the next two weeks. It’s a long-look strategy. You have to keep pushing forward.”
NAMB lawsuit tests when courts can – and cannot – resolve disputes in religious bodies
A common law doctrine long used to determine when disputes within a religious entity require intervention by civil courts took center stage in oral arguments Feb. 6 in the 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in New Orleans.
‘Politics’ is becoming a four-letter word in American society
“Relationships are more important than trying to win arguments.”
William Barber says Trump’s acquittal a form of ‘Southern Justice’
The Rev. William Barber, whose national Poor People’s Campaign is winning comparison to Martin Luther King, likened President Donald Trump’s impeachment acquittal to predetermined outcomes seen by blacks in the segregated South before the Civil Rights Movement. “Poor people across…
Southern Baptist senator says his conscience is clear after Trump acquittal
Southern Baptist senator Lindsey Graham said Thursday he doesn’t expect on Judgment Day to be asked to give an account for why he voted to acquit in the impeachment of President Donald Trump.
Transitions for the week of 2-7-20
Please submit transitions — including staff changes, ordinations, anniversaries or deaths — to Barbara Francis. This page will be updated weekly. STAFF CHANGES Joanna Capps, concluding her tenure as minister of children and youth at Benson (N.C.) Baptist Church. Ryan…
Trump uses National Prayer Breakfast to attack political foes
President Donald Trump opened Thursday’s National Prayer Breakfast with harsh words about his political opponents a day after his acquittal at his Senate impeachment trial.
‘You can’t get much bigger’ than the public mourning of NBA great Kobe Bryant
The Jan. 26 death of retired NBA star Kobe Bryant touched off a wave of public mourning that transcended social class and grieved many who aren’t sports fans. And that came as no surprise to Chanequa Walker-Barnes, associate professor of…
Trump touts school vouchers in State of the Union address
In a series of tweets Tuesday night, Amanda Tyler of the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty described the proposal as an “astounding tax giveaway that results in massive subsidy of private, including religious, education.”
Missiologist and ministry mentor Bill O’Brien dies
Bill O’Brien, a former Southern Baptist music missionary acknowledged as a leading expert in 21st century global missions, died Saturday. George Mason, pastor of Wilshire Baptist Church in Dallas, announced his passing on social media, saying his father-in-law and brother in Christ “did not wake up on this side of the veil.”