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…
Baptists mourn, pray for victims of Manchester bombing
Baptist leaders and other clergy voiced sadness and prayers on social media after a terrorist attack killed 22 people and injured 59 at a concert by American singer Ariana Grande May 22 in Manchester, England. Police named 22-year-old Salman Abedi,…
NAMB denies defaming former state convention exec
The Southern Baptist Convention North American Mission Board denied defaming or interfering in the employment of a former Baptist state convention executive director in a response filed May 18 to a lawsuit in federal court. NAMB attorneys claimed former Baptist…
Grady Cothen, one of last pre-1979 SBC agency heads, dies
Grady Cothen, one of the last surviving Southern Baptist Convention agency heads prior to schism in the 1980s, has died. Cothen, 96, died peacefully May 19 at the Orchard Home in Ridgeland, Miss., after a series of illnesses. Cothen served…
On one of the churches’ most contentious issues, advocate tries to navigate way forward
Matthew Vines’ calling, it seems, is to a ministry of the improbable, if not the impossible: convincing the world’s Christians to embrace gay people. Maybe so. But he is undaunted — and confident. “The global church will be fully LGBTQ…
LGBT-friendly student group sets up possible showdown between Samford and Alabama Baptists
Trustees of Baptist-affiliated Samford University are poised to vote on an officially sanctioned gay-straight alliance recommended by students and faculty, setting up potential conflict with the Alabama Baptist Convention. The convention’s State Board of Missions met behind closed doors May…