Franklin Graham has quit a financial accountability group his father helped found. The son of the famed evangelist has pulled both the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Samaritan’s Purse from membership in the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. That group…
Entire Fifth Circuit will rehear Louisiana Ten Commandments case
A federal appeals court has tossed out its previous ruling that Louisiana’s Ten Commandments law is “plainly unconstitutional” and announced all 17 of its judges will now reconsider the case. The Fifth Circuit U.S. District Court of Appeals in New…
Trump boasts of ‘Top 100 Victories for People of Faith’
President Donald Trump recently celebrated his role as “the most pro-faith and pro-religious liberty president in American history” by issuing a little-noticed list of his “Top 100 Victories for People of Faith,” many of them gifts to the evangelicals who…
SBC Cooperative Program giving declines yet again
Giving to the Southern Baptist Convention’s Cooperative Program unified budget has declined in seven of the past 10 years, with receipts for the year just ended being 4.4% less than a decade ago. The SBC Executive Committee released final fiscal…
Coalition sues to stop $100,000 fee on H-1B visas
The Trump administration now faces litigation to block its new $100,000 fee on employer-sponsored nonimmigrant visas. Democracy Forward announced the lawsuit filed Oct. 3 by a coalition of health care providers, labor unions, religious organizations and schools against President Donald…
Wisconsin pioneers program for church property redevelopment grants
Churches in Wisconsin are now eligible for property redevelopment grants from a program organizers hope will spread to other states. The Good Next Step Grant Program provides congregations with awards of up to $40,000 to create affordable housing or a…
Robert Morris pleads guilty to child sexual abuse
In a plea agreement announced Oct. 2, Gateway Church founder Robert Morris pleaded guilty to five felony counts of lewd or indecent acts with a child. Morris was given a 10-year sentence, but with the negotiated plea deal will serve…
New ABC resource helps pass the torch of church leadership
It is the responsibility of seasoned Christian leaders to recruit and prepare new generations to guide the church into the future, said Jeffrey Haggray, executive director of the American Baptist Home Mission Societies and Judson Press. That requires older members…
Panelists testify to unresolved pain in death penalty cases
Cynthia Vaughn spent years consumed with rage over her mother’s 1984 murder and felt no relief whatsoever when the killer — her stepfather — finally was executed in 2019. “I didn’t get the closure people think comes with an execution….
3 cases to watch as Supreme Court begins new term
The new Supreme Court term that begins Monday promises significant rulings on three of the country’s more divisive culture war issues: Can Colorado ban gay conversion therapy? Can New Jersey issue a consumer alert about deceptive advertising by a crisis…
Conservatives call for defunding, eradicating liberal groups
Officials say the man who killed Charlie Kirk acted alone, but conservative groups and some Republicans in Congress say he was part of a vast liberal conspiracy that should be investigated, defunded and eradicated. “He May Have Pulled The Trigger,…
Florida church ordains four women for ministry on same day
While some Baptist churches are actively running away from any hint of supporting women in leadership, a Florida Baptist church recently ordained four women as ministers on the same day. In a Sept. 21 service filled with pageantry, liturgical readings…