Please submit transitions — including staff changes, ordinations, anniversaries or deaths — to Barbara Francis. This page will be updated weekly. STAFF CHANGES Tom Baynum, to Ginter Park Baptist Church, Richmond, Va., as minister of music. James Cozart, to Oakwood Memorial…
Rural, urban churches joining the monastic movement
The New Monastic communities get quite a bit of press. And why not? Their adherents shun contemporary society and church to live communally. They embrace ancient Christian contemplative and worship rituals, practice radical hospitality and serve those living on the margins…
Church opens prayer garden to pet lovers
“All dogs go to heaven” may be debatable theologically, but in Roanoke, Va., there’s a place where canines can go to church. Welcome to “dog chapel” at Colonial Avenue Baptist Church, a 53-year-old congregation affiliated with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship….
Baptist official critiques ‘quick fixes’ to challenges churches face
Quick fixes like contemporary worship and missional outreach can’t fix what ails U.S. churches, an American Baptist official said in a recent lecture at Central Baptist Theological Seminary. “There are no quick fixes,” Jeff Woods, associate general secretary for regional…
Faith, determination propel teen immigrant past social and language barriers in U.S.
It’s amazing how something like a plastic shopping bag — and faith in the good of others — can have such a positive impact on a life. Marilin Garcia, 18, can testify to that. Shen she was in kindergarten, her mother couldn’t…
Russell Moore: Religious Right must change or die
If the Religious Right is to survive, it must embrace a “gospel-centered” evangelicalism that articulates why and how Christianity matters rather than using religion as a means toward a political end, the Southern Baptist Convention’s top spokesman for public policy…
Judge says girls suing church can remain anonymous
A Kansas judge has ruled that two victims of sexual assault suing a Southern Baptist church will remain anonymous in court proceedings. Johnson County District Court Judge Kevin Moriarty granted a motion last month allowing the plaintiffs to proceed using pseudonyms…
‘Spoken word’ preaching form gaining as racial justice movements grow
Somehow, Trey Lyon is able to pack nearly an hour of gospel into a few short minutes of preaching. And have it stick. “Trey’s sermons are 10 minutes, but I would argue they do more work theologically and homiletically than…
Southern Seminary supporter says Mohler wrong about ‘never Trump’
A financial supporter of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary criticized President Albert Mohler’s vocal opposition to presidential candidate Donald Trump in opposing op-ed pieces in the Louisville Courier-Journal. Jack Richardson IV, an attorney and longtime member of the Southern Seminary Foundation…
Clinton stumps at North Carolina Baptist church
During a campaign swing through the battleground state of North Carolina, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton spoke Oct. 23 from the pulpit of a 7,000-member African-American Baptist church. The former secretary of state reminded worshippers at Union Baptist Church in…
Small churches ideal for Millennials if members, pastors avoid temptation to isolate
It isn’t easy being a small church. Their pastors and members know it all too well. They are usually under-resourced — fewer members often means fewer dollars, fewer teachers and lay leaders, fewer books, workshops and experts focused to overcoming their…
Well-known Baptist church in Atlanta is staying put
A well-known Baptist church in Atlanta has decided to stay on the site it has occupied for six decades following a year-long study of options including relocation or possible merger with another congregation. Members of Wieuca Road Baptist Church voted Oct….