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…
Moderate Baptist ethicist Robert Parham dies
Robert Parham, founding executive director of the Baptist Center for Ethics, died March 5 following an illness. He was 63. “More than anyone I have known, Robert was well-suited for and passionate about his specific job in life,” Kevin Heifner,…
For clergy and churches, repeal of health law poses serious consequences
Like most Americans, ministers and their families are facing exploding health-care costs. And for many clergy, the resulting frustration and stress comes on top of the long hours and low pay associated with their callings. Throw in the rising suspense…
Four dozen Baptists side with transgender teen in bathroom battle
Nearly 50 clergy members identifying with the Alliance of Baptists, American Baptist Churches USA or Cooperative Baptist Fellowship joined a legal brief filed March 2 supporting a transgender student’s case before the U.S. Supreme Court. In all more than 1,800…
For one seminary librarian, stating the facts cost him his job
Twenty years ago, a single act of speaking truth to power cost one quiet seminary librarian his job. Paul Debusman worked at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky., for 35 years until his “involuntary retirement” 10 months ahead of schedule…