Clergy and organizational staff moves, church news, obituaries and more, updated weekly.
Prior to health care replacement bill being pulled, range of Baptist leaders said ‘no’
A Baptist minister joined hundreds of interfaith clergy and community leaders in a Capitol Hill rally March 22 opposing the Republican plan to replace the Affordable Care Act as legislation moved to an expected showdown vote on March 24.
Trump returning to Liberty University as commencement speaker
President Donald Trump will deliver the spring commencement address at Liberty University, returning to the scene of an appearance in January 2016 that helped put him on a path to winning widespread evangelical support in last year’s election. The school…
Are public attitudes toward clergy changing? It’s complicated.
Few ministers need coaches or surveys to tell them what Americans think of clergy these days. They can rely on their own experiences for that. Amy Butler does. Based on interactions with strangers on flights, at parties and in other…
ERLC officers affirm Russell Moore
Officers of the Southern Baptist Convention Ethics and Religious Liberty have affirmed the leadership of agency head Russell Moore, amid media reports that he might be fired. In an unusual statement March 20, the ERLC executive committee said Moore, under…
AWAB leaders empathize with ‘unambiguously gay’ Disney character
Controversy over the “exclusively gay moment” in the live-action musical remake of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast offers a glimpse of what many gay people experience growing up in church, leaders of the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists commented…
Single adult numbers are soaring. What does that mean for congregations?
Churches may want to take a hard look at what they’re offering young, single adults — and then boost it. “Many churches are built around a family model,” Roxanne Stone, editor and chief of the Barna Group, said in remarks published…
Transitions for the week of 03.17.17
Please submit transitions — including staff changes, ordinations, anniversaries or deaths — to Barbara Francis. This page will be updated weekly. STAFF CHANGES Taylor Bell, to Baptist Church of the Covenant, Birmingham, Ala., as ministries coordinator. Troy Freeman, to First Baptist…
Baptist state convention sued over rape at church camp
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….