Merianna Harrelson was cruising along as pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Lexington, S.C., when Mother Nature stepped in with historic flooding in the fall of 2015. The high waters, and the suffering they inspired, drew Harrelson and her husband,…
Former SBC agency head says Calvinism debate goes deeper than a failure to communicate
A former Southern Baptist Convention agency head disputed the argument that tensions over Calvinism in the denomination are the result of traditionalists who criticize what they don’t understand. Richard Land, former president of the SBC Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission,…
Southern Baptist leaders, others, oppose laws battling LGBT discrimination
More than 75 religious conservatives, including several leaders in the Southern Baptist Convention, have signed a public document opposing policies that ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Charter signers of the “Preserve Freedom, Reject Coercion” proclamation coordinated…
Transitions for the week of 12.16.16
Please submit transitions — including staff changes, ordinations, anniversaries or deaths — to Barbara Francis. This page will be updated weekly. STAFF CHANGES Jill Buckley, concluding her tenure as associate pastor for community ministry at Northminster Baptist Church, Jackson, Miss. She…
Faith, religious commitment may inspire workplace success
Catholics are more emotionally committed to their workplaces than are evangelicals, and people with strong attachments to God, regardless of their faith group, are more committed to their jobs when they work for smaller companies. Those and other findings about…
Pre-Christmas burglaries target Louisiana churches
Authorities in Louisiana are looking for a real-life Grinch following a recent string of church burglaries. The Baptist Message, news journal of the Louisiana Baptist Convention, said four Baptist congregations were among nine churches of various denominations hit by burglars…
Southern Seminary president affirms fidelity to Abstract of Principles
A Calvinist-influenced doctrinal statement written by slaveholders before the Civil War still serves Southern Baptists well in the 21st century, a seminary president said recently promoting a new book affirming his institution’s commitment to “confessional” faith. Albert Mohler, president of…
Blue Christmas service seeks to comfort the grieving
Christmas can be anything but the most wonderful time of the year for those suffering from grief and loss, and a number of churches seek to comfort the afflicted with a Blue Christmas service providing a safe place during the…
President-elect inspiring more prayer, worship and (social media) fasting
It could be that the election of Donald Trump is having an unintended consequence: Driving more Americans to the practice of fasting. It’s already been reported that prayer and worship attendance among mainline Christians are rising since Election Day. So…
Speaker says Genderbread Person highlights need for Christian schools
Editor’s note: This story was edited after posting to correct errors in the second and third paragraphs. The retired head of an organization of Christian schools claimed young children in public schools are being indoctrinated in beliefs such as “transgenderism”…
Hoping for cessation of ‘war on Christmas’ rhetoric? Don’t, historians say
Another season of the so-called “war on Christmas,” especially in the wake of Donald Trump’s election, may be just enough to drive some people over the edge. And all indications are it isn’t going to go away. “There is no…
Former moderate Baptist leader parallels presidential race with SBC holy war
A leader in the moderate resistance to fundamentalist influence in the closing decades of the 20th century says he sees troubling similarities between today’s political climate and the era now commonly referred to as the Conservative Resurgence in the Southern…