An attorney defending Mississippi’s controversial law allowing state employees to refuse to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples and various businesses to deny services to LGBT individuals claimed in federal court April 3 that individuals challenging the statute should not…
Ministers, parents disagree on youth ministry goals
Parents expect a lot from youth ministers. Above all they want them to host safe gatherings where their kids can hang out with friends. At the same time they want their youth to learn how to say no to drugs,…
Baptist groups among faith organizations opposing Johnson Amendment repeal
Baptists were among 99 religious and denominational organizations April 4 urging members of Congress to maintain a law that prohibits churches and other tax-exempt organizations from endorsing or opposing political candidates. The Alliance of Baptists, American Baptist Churches USA, Association…
Churches should drop Easter, Christmas extravaganzas and get out more, experts urge
A few years back — 10 or 15 or so — a small church in Southern California noticed its big holiday productions were feeling a bit stale, especially to younger people. “The old guard was putting on a show for the new people,…
Baptist church funds N.C.’s first homeless shelter for gay youth
Myers Park Baptist Church in Charlotte, N.C., has announced a $100,000 gift to help build North Carolina’s first homeless shelter for LGBTQ youth. The gift, announced March 30, will help Time Out Youth — a support and advocacy organization for lesbian,…
Orphan care takes center stage in LGBT/religious liberty debate
Adoption and foster care are taking center stage in the latest conflict between LGBT equality and religious liberty. In the Texas legislature, State Rep. James Frank (R-Wichita Falls) is proposing an amendment to the state’s Human Resources Code to protect…
Transitions for the week of 03.31.17
Clergy and organizational staff moves, church news, obituaries and more, updated weekly.
Stuffing shoe boxes for the world’s poor? Maybe you should reconsider
For many churches, Operation Christmas Child is a well-established — and easy — expression of their compassion for the poor. Some congregations, however, are discovering better ways to engage the world’s impoverished.
As faith-based activism rises, so does need for advocacy training
Donald Trump’s November victory and January inauguration cast many into despair about the nation’s future and into doubt about its values. But Trump’s presidency so far has also produced at least one upside: to inspire tens of thousands, if not…
Baptist entrepreneur David Cassady named president of Kentucky seminary
Baptist Seminary of Kentucky, a theological education partner of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, has named longtime moderate Baptist educator and entrepreneur David Cassady as its second president. Cassady, 56, will succeed founding president Greg Earwood, who retired last year. He…
Impact of Trump refugee cuts felt by churches, nonprofits and internationals
The limit President Trump has placed on the number of refugees who can enter the U.S. has devastated those who have languished in overseas refugee camps for years. While the travel-ban portion of Trump’s second executive order has been placed…
Engaging the immigration debate: Ethicist, pastor differ on New Sanctuary Movement
A Baptist ethicist says flaws in America’s immigration system don’t rise to the level of a moral issue to justify the use of civil disobedience, but a Washington, D.C., pastor believes churches should do everything in their power to renounce language of criminality in the immigration debate.