Picketers at next week’s Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in Phoenix will seek to persuade messengers and leaders to remove LGBT individuals from the “sin list” in the nation’s second-largest faith group. Faith in America, a North Carolina-based advocacy organization,…
Pastors seeking to empower West Louisville unimpressed by governor’s prayer-walk solution
A call by Kentucky’s governor to pray away gun violence in predominantly African-American West Louisville fell on deaf ears of clergy hoping for more tangible solutions to more than 50 homicides in the Commonwealth’s largest city so far in 2017….
‘Tiny House Nation’ helps Baptist minister launch Hawaii retreat center
A very small home, a pastor’s Baptist identity and her evolving spiritual direction have found unlikely expression on the hit reality series “Tiny House Nation.”
Transitions for the week of 06.02.17
Please submit transitions — including staff changes, ordinations, anniversaries or deaths — to Barbara Francis. This page will be updated weekly. STAFF CHANGES Alfonso Campbell III, to New Baptist Covenant, as interim director of programs and communications. Laurel Cluthe, to Holmeswood…
Mosque backed by Baptists wins in lawsuit settlement
A religious liberty case that sparked controversy after two Southern Baptist Convention agencies filed legal briefs supporting the right of Muslims to build a mosque in New Jersey has been settled. Bernards Township, N.J., will pay $3.25 million in damages…
Texas Freedom Network head says using religion to discriminate violates the Golden Rule
The leader of a Texas civil-liberties organization formed to counter the Religious Right speculated in a radio interview May 27 that the state’s child welfare crisis helped boost a controversial bill headed to the governor’s desk allowing state-funded providers of…
Research finds Americans are obsessing over morality — again
The human penchant for worrying about the state of morality is ageless. In the 1950s, the popularity of rolled-up jeans, slicked back hair and rock’n’roll music frightened Americans so much that many feared juvenile delinquency would be the ruin of…
CBF announces cuts in staff, field personnel
The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship announced budget cuts May 26 reducing the number of missionaries on the field and eliminating two senior level positions at CBF headquarters in Decatur, Ga.
Transitions for the week of 05.26.17
Please submit transitions — including staff changes, ordinations, anniversaries or deaths — to Barbara Francis. This page will be updated weekly. STAFF CHANGES Seth Behrens, to First Baptist Church, Mason City, Neb., as young adult pastor. Glen D. Bohannon, to Walnut…
Besides gore, zombie films offer rich spiritual formation lessons, prof says
Zombie dramas are known for being full of blood and guts, horror and death — lots and lots of death. But is it possible they also offer lessons in ethics and spiritual formation? Greg Garrett, a Baylor University professor, author and…
Couple seeks to revive lawsuit against LifeWay’s sale of Glorieta conference center
An Arkansas couple is seeking to revive their dismissed lawsuit challenging the sale of Glorieta Conference Center in an amended complaint claiming new evidence and “better knowledge of federal court procedure.” Kirk and Susie Tompkins, residents of Little Rock, Ark.,…
Songwriter sees ‘good news’ in declining role of church music
Some people were surprised — and worried — to learn from an April poll that sermons are a much stronger draw to church attendance than music. And it was worse than that for music lovers. The Gallup survey presented a list of…