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….
New AWAB leader brings non-profit management skills
The new executive director of the Association of Welcoming and Affirming Baptists — a network of more than 100 congregations that fully include members regardless of sexual orientation — hopes to lead the 23-year-old organization to be “a catalyst for building and strengthening…
Florida Baptist newspaper moving to monthly publication
The Florida Baptist Witness, the 132-year-old news journal of the Florida Baptist Convention, will reduce its frequency from every other week to once a month beginning in 2017. The Baptist state newspaper will also begin publishing news stories online when…
Victims trying to put flood picture in a different frame
In North Carolina, Hurricanes Fran in 1996 and Floyd in 1999 sat atop the honor roll of calamity for 20 years. Flooding from Hurricane Matthew has knocked them off the mountain, leaving tens of thousands of residents shaking their heads and digging through mud looking for a morsel of hope.
Westboro Baptist Church reportedly coming to Belmont University
A Christian university in Nashville, Tenn., is bracing for a Halloween visit by the notoriously anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan. The independent Baptist church which has been protesting the acceptance of homosexuality since 1991 announced on its website…
Survey says white evangelicals sticking with Donald Trump
Evangelical support for Donald Trump did not waver in the two weeks after the release of video of the Republican nominee making vulgar remarks about women recorded on an open microphone in 2005, according to a new survey by Public…
Pastors question roles, emotions when police and protesters clash
It was Charlotte’s turn on Sept. 20, 2016, the day police fatally shot Keith Lamont Scott at an apartment complex. Cops say he was armed. The family said he was reading a book when officers approached. Just as they had…