A church-state specialist says language in a U.S. House spending bill limiting the ability of the IRS to deny tax-exempt status to churches for violating a ban on endorsing candidates makes them easy prey for political campaigns hunting for votes.
Popular evangelical author signals support for marriage equality, then retracts comments
Eugene Peterson’s initial response and his reversal a day later both generated criticism from fans of his many books, including his idiomatic translation of the Bible called “The Message.”
UPDATED: Evangelical author’s support for marriage equality draws fire from opponents
Southern Baptist fans of Eugene Peterson are questioning his salvation after he said in an interview he thinks it is possible to be both Christian and gay and, if asked, he would be willing to officiate a same-sex wedding. The next day the author retracted his statement.
Transitions for the week of 07.14.17
Staff changes, congregational news and more from across the nation.
After three decades of defending Baptist principles, Texas Baptists Committed closing its doors
Texas Baptists Committed — an organization formed nearly 30 years ago in a failed effort to stop a rightward shift in the Southern Baptist Convention before successfully slowing that tide in the Baptist General Convention of Texas — is closing its doors.
Samford forfeits Baptist funds but pulls plug on student gay-straight alliance
After forfeiting $3 million a year in institutional funding from the Alabama Baptist State Convention, the president of Samford University announced he will not seek formal recognition of a student group dedicated to the discussion of LGBTQ issues and human…
Pick your reaction: Facebook’s rainbow flag emoji rankles some; their response worries others
When Facebook briefly rolled out a new Pride Flag emoji last month as a reaction option on users’ posts, some adopted it enthusiastically. Others asked for additional emojis — including a Christian cross.
Human rights and religious liberty advocate elected to lead Baptist World Alliance
The Baptist World Alliance tapped a U.S. human rights and religious liberty advocate as its new general secretary. At 36, Elijah Brown is the youngest person to lead the global organization.
Want your church to talk better about sex? This scholar’s project might help.
Baptists have consistently said two things about sex — “don’t do it, at least not until marriage” and “don’t talk about it” — a gender and sexuality scholar said last week. She thinks they can do better.
Transitions for the week of 07.07.17
Staff changes, congregational news and more from across the nation.
Spontaneous Millennials can be tapped as bigger church givers, studies show
Millennials are more generous with their money in some cases than older Americans, a new report says. The study by the Barna Group examined motivations behind giving to various causes, including family needs, charitable giving and serving God. The findings…
Illumination Project seeks light, not heat, on controversial issues, task force reports at CBF
The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship is trying to do what few if any mainstream religious bodies have been able to do — disagree about homosexuality without splitting.