A North Carolina Baptist church’s ministry to Syrian refugees took a frightening turn Feb. 14 when a 19-month-old son in one of two families sponsored by the congregation suffered critical injuries in an attack by two pit bulls. The toddler,…
For ministers, lean finances sometimes means stronger marriages and families
Ministers yearning for higher salaries may be wealthier than they think, a new study suggests. The tighter a pastor’s financial situation is, the fuller her or his relationships will be, according to the Barna Group. The organization says it finds…
Transitions for the week of 02.17.17
Please submit transitions — including staff changes, ordinations, anniversaries or deaths — to Barbara Francis. This page will be updated weekly. STAFF CHANGES Sean Brown, to Wedgwood Community Church, Seattle, Wash., as pastor. Dennis Burton, to Wingate (N.C.) Baptist Church, as…
Russell Moore affirms effort by Congress to block DC death-with-dignity law
The Southern Baptist Convention’s top spokesman for moral concerns applauded a rare attempt by Republicans in Congress to block a District of Columbia law that would make assisted suicide legal in the heavily Democratic district. Russell Moore, president of the…
Ministers in high demand in China, where Christianity has outpaced Communism
There are already thought to be more Christians in China (100 million) than members of the Communist Party (87 million). In fact, over the next 15 years, China is on course to become the nation with the world’s largest Christian…
Religion students petition Baylor to become sanctuary campus
A group of doctoral students in Baylor University’s religion department recently launched an online petition asking the administration to join the growing “sanctuary campus” movement, appealing to the private Baptist school’s Christian identity. Co-authored by six members of Baylor’s Graduate…
What’s love got to do with it?
As couples everywhere celebrate Valentine’s Day, Baptist News Global writer Greg Warner explores the whole issue of marriage and how it evolved from a mostly contractual agreement to a sacred institution of love and romance, and how even that has evolved…
Ending isolation saves careers, minister peer groups find
In ministry, going it alone can be downright depressing and, in extreme cases, deadly. Isolation, real or imagined, can lead ministers into burnout, emotional distress, heart disease and sometimes suicide. It prompts the age-old question: who pastors the pastors? Religious…
Fox pundit credits God, Franklin Graham, for electing Trump
Fox News personality Todd Starnes attributed Donald Trump’s election to “divine intervention” aided by prayer rallies led by evangelist Franklin Graham in an American Pastor’s Network radio interview Feb. 9. Starnes, a Fox News personality for more than a decade…
Experts warn that the church has lost its way — and its influence
Some Christian leaders wonder if the American church retains any meaningful influence in a society when it has been so strongly dominated by other cultural forces. In the book The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience, theologian Ron Sider laments that…
BJC leader says churches can influence policy without being a PAC
The head of a Baptist religious liberty watchdog group warned in a Religion News Service op-ed Feb. 9 that removing limits on political activity by tax-exempt charities could harm churches more than help them. Amanda Tyler, executive director of the…
Focus on passion, not numbers, in nurturing new congregations
Church planting has never been easy, but it seems to be getting a lot harder in an age of nones, dones and young people who just don’t join things. As a result, those new to the field of launching new…