A federal judge ruled May 3 that a sexual molestation lawsuit against former Southern Baptist Convention leader Paul Pressler must return to state court in Texas.
Transitions for the week of 05.03.18
Staff changes, congregational news and more from across the nation.
Baptist association expels church for pastor’s support of gay rights
An American Baptist church in West Virginia has been removed from its local association because its pastor does not believe that homosexuality is a sin.
Research: many ‘nones’ likely to find or return to faith
The Pew Research Center is reporting that 80 percent of Americans believe in God, which should be great news for America’s struggling churches. Right? But hold on. Of that group, only a slim majority, 56 percent, believe in the God described in the Bible, Pew found in a recently published survey. However, that doesn’t mean the rest are outright religion-rejecting secularists.
Paige Patterson controversy tests SBC’s ‘no criticism’ code, says former denominational worker
Southern Baptist Convention leaders are distancing themselves from an embattled seminary president in an unusual departure from custom about never speaking ill in public about a fellow agency head, according to a former denominational worker.
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.
Florida megachurch undergoing leadership change
In a surprise announcement, Mac Brunson said April 20 he is stepping down after 12 years as senior pastor of the 10,000-member First Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Fla. Brunson, 60, said in a statement posted on Facebook that he and…
Co-habitation up, finger pointing down as church discipline declines
Experience and new research show that churches aren’t punishing morally wayward members like they once did. “There is less discipline overall,” said George Bullard, a veteran church and clergy consultant and director of missions for the Columbia Metro Baptist Association in…
SBC leader under fire for comments about divorce, abuse
The president of a Southern Baptist Convention seminary has defended an 18-year-old recording describing his counsel to a woman in an abusive marriage that is finding a new audience on social media in the age of #MeToo. Paige Patterson, president…
Third Baptist/Muslim dialogue seeks to build bridges between church and mosque
Sixty-five Baptists and Muslims met April 16-19 to discuss ways to unite churches and mosques in communities to foster interfaith understanding, promote religious liberty and cooperate for common good.
Inspired by youth, churches rising to oppose gun violence
Inspired by the concept that nothing changes if nothing changes, people of faith are responding the gun crisis by organizing everything from congregational letter-writing campaigns to strategy conferences to local gun buybacks. Clergy and laypeople involved say the key is doing something — anything — rather than caving in to the enormity of the gun violence issue.
White Christians should make pilgrimage to new Lynching Memorial, Baptist leader says
Lynching is a part of America’s past that must be confronted and accepted before racial healing can occur, says Hannah McMahan, executive director of the New Baptist Covenant. McMahan attended today’s formal opening of the National Memorial for Peace and Justice in Montgomery, Ala.