Maybe Mitt Romney should have waited one election cycle to run for president. Romney was dogged by negative perceptions about his Mormon faith during his unsuccessful 2012 bid for the presidency. But new research shows attitudes about Mormons are warming,…
Politics, homosexuality, roil competing Baptist bodies in Texas
Separate state conventions affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention in Texas that parted ways during the SBC conservative resurgence now face challenges of their own generated by current controversies over homosexuality and President Donald Trump. The Baptist General Convention of…
Poll says 3 in 4 white evangelicals support Trump travel ban
Three in four white evangelicals support President Trump’s controversial executive order banning travelers from seven majority-Muslim countries, according to a recent poll by the Pew Research Center. The study, released Feb. 16, also found white evangelicals, who according to exit…
How to keep youth engaged with church and faith? Pay them.
Frustration transformed into innovation for a Washington State youth minister tired of losing young people to other activities and smartphones. His solution: pay them. It all started for Matt Overton with a growing trend of absenteeism in his youth group…
Supreme Court schedules case involving church-state dispute
The U.S. Supreme Court has set oral arguments in one of the year’s most anticipated cases involving religious liberty and the separation of church and state. Trinity Lutheran Church v. Pauley, set for arguments April 19, involves a Missouri church…
Southern Baptist leader apologizes for legal brief supporting mosque
The president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s International Mission Board has apologized for his agency’s decision to file a legal brief supporting Muslims seeking to build a New Jersey mosque. “I grieve how the amicus brief in the recent mosque…
Faith leaders support death-row inmate’s religious discrimination claim
More than 500 faith leaders across the country have endorsed a statement calling for a new trial for a Texas death row inmate claiming religious discrimination in the selection of his jury. National faith leaders including Tony Campolo and Shane…
Waco attorney, minister answers calling with new nonprofit legal services firm
A Waco, Texas, attorney long accustomed to taking on long-odds cases is betting that his latest cause — a new nonprofit legal services firm — has a good chance of success. Kent McKeever said he knows from experience that low-income clients will…
Church aids refugee family after dog attack
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…