Christians in the United States are rightly concerned about the rise of extremist groups like the alt-right, but they shouldn’t be so surprised, public theologian Brian McLaren said June 29.
Trump action won’t faze Cuban-U.S. church relations, pastor says
Donald Trump’s decision to negate the normalization of U.S.-Cuban relations may further American isolationism, but it will not sever the relationships between churches in the two countries. The “prophetic role of religious partnerships … will continue their fight for normalized…
Border wall, immigration among top concerns for Hispanic Baptists, leader says
President Donald Trump’s proposed border wall, deteriorating relations with Mexico, and the arrests and deportations of immigrants — many from their own communities — strike at the heart of the Hispanic community.
Baptist organizations join letter opposing Senate health care bill
Religious groups including the American Baptist Home Mission Societies, American Baptist Churches USA, Alliance of Baptists, Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America and Progressive National Baptist Convention say the Senate replacement bill for Obamacare is bad news for people with…
LGBTQ Cooperative Baptists say the time for inclusion is now
Cooperative Baptists who identify as LGBTQ and their allies said the time is now for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship to drop its policy against hiring staff or missionaries who are openly gay on the eve of the June 28-30 CBF…
Transitions for the week of 06.30.17
Please submit transitions — including staff changes, ordinations, anniversaries or deaths — to Barbara Francis. This page will be updated weekly. STAFF CHANGES Ernest Andrew Brooks III, to the Academy of Preachers, Inc., as president and CEO, effective July 1. Previously…
Political parties and denominations share key trends in post-Christian age
As a congregational coach and clergy consultant, Mark Tidsworth is always looking for ways to illustrate to his clients how society and the world are constantly shifting around them. But he hadn’t expected to find such lessons embedded in new…
Diana Butler Bass: SBC decline dispels idea that only liberal denominations die
A scholar who specializes in American religion and culture says the Southern Baptist Convention’s loss of a million members in the last decade exposes as a false narrative the conventional wisdom that only liberal denominations decline. “If you stretch back…
Religious liberty advocates divided over Supreme Court’s Trinity Lutheran decision
Reaction varied to Monday’s Supreme Court ruling siding with a Missouri church which had been denied public money to improve a school playground. Groups including the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty called it a blow to the separation of…
Baptists, of all people, should embrace creation care, activists say
With their emphasis on water in baptism, Baptists, like other Christians, have the language and ancient practices that are helpful in bringing people into a more meaningful relationship with the elements that give life.
Sarah Frances Anders, CBF leader and advocate for women in ministry, dies after battle with Alzheimer’s
Word has been received of the recent death of Sarah Frances Anders, a trailblazer for Southern Baptist women in ministry and past moderator of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. Anders, a longtime sociology professor at Louisiana College, died June 8 at…
Transitions for the week of 06.23.17
Please submit transitions — including staff changes, ordinations, anniversaries or deaths — to Barbara Francis. This page will be updated weekly. STAFF CHANGES Jim Ailor, to Rhoadesville (Va.) Baptist Church, as interim preacher. Kevin Allen, to First Baptist Church, Stephenville, Texas,…