A lawsuit filed recently in Oklahoma claims negligence by a Southern Baptist state convention in the violent rape last summer of a 13-year girl attending a church camp. The lawsuit, filed March 8 in the district court of Oklahoma County,…
Those seeking a deeper faith should consult their (Christian) calendar, Baptist preacher says
Some Baptists and other Protestants doubt the relevance and biblical correctness of using the Christian calendar. But not Joe LaGuardia, senior pastor at First Baptist Church in Vero Beach, Fla. LaGuardia said the Christian calendar, as expressed in worship and…
Minister joins effort to address North Carolina’s role in torture
A former military officer turned Baptist minister denounced torture as “unjust, immoral and unethical on religious grounds” in a telephone press conference March 15 launching the new nonprofit North Carolina Commission of Inquiry on Torture. “All religions traditions affirm the…
Faith, determination pay off when woman meets Willie Nelson
Allison Dickson is no stranger to the spotlight. Dickson, who has lived all her life with both spinal muscular dystrophy and a remarkable can-do spirit, has tackled and finished college (including sorority life), Baylor Law School and numerous high-dollar fundraisers….
One of Richmond seminary’s original professors nominated as its president
One-time New Testament professor Linda McKinnish Bridges will return to Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond as president if approved by the Virginia seminary’s trustee board March 21. A presidential search committee announced her nomination to replace current President Ron Crawford,…
Is the future bright for women in ministry? Survey says some think so.
Attitudes about the role of women in the workplace, in politics and church seem to have made some advances in recent years, new research suggests. In a study released Tuesday, the Barna Group said it found that 94 percent of…
Religious freedom clashes coming to a Sunday school class near you
A new small-group study curriculum produced by the Southern Baptist Convention portrays religious liberty as under siege in the United States of America. A joint project of the SBC Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission and LifeWay Christian Resources, the six-week…
Transitions for the week of 03.10.17
Please submit transitions — including staff changes, ordinations, anniversaries or deaths — to Barbara Francis. This page will be updated weekly. STAFF CHANGES Phil Carpenter, concluding his tenure as minister of music at United Baptist Church, Annandale, Va., to accept a…
CEO-style pastorates all the rage but offer little to those seeking deeper faith
Most pastors have had administrative responsibilities. But experts say it has gone well beyond that for ministers who are facing increasing pressure to act more like chief executive officers than pastors. Congregations concerned about dwindling numbers — both on the rolls…
Seminarians push back at former SBC president escrowing Cooperative Program funds
Former Southern Baptist Convention President Jack Graham was greeted by students wearing “I Love CP” t-shirts and an open letter voicing concern about his Texas megachurch’s decision to temporarily withhold funding for the denomination when he spoke in chapel March…
Uproar over theology misses powerful lesson on grief, healing in ‘The Shack’
The movie reviewer side of Michael Parnell is so-so on the film The Shack as a cinematic production. “It’s OK — I’ll just say that,” said Parnell, who writes film reviews for EthicsDaily.com. The pastor side of Parnell is more passionate…
Muslims held to double standard in cases of faith-based violence
Americans hold double standards about cases of religiously motivated violence, with white evangelicals most inconsistent and the religiously unaffiliated the most consistent. In a recent survey by the Public Religion Research Institute, Americans were asked if people who perpetrate acts…