A nonprofit organization has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help the National Baptist Convention make up a $65,000 tourism grant lost after an atheist group filed a lawsuit questioning the use of taxpayer dollars to support the group’s annual session…
American Baptist minister remembered as agent of reconciliation
An American Baptist pastor and denominational leader who early in his ministry advocated for justice and reconciliation in his native South Africa in the waning years of apartheid died Aug. 20. Desmond Hoffmeister, 56, senior pastor at Granada Hills Baptist…
Like Gissendaner, Wood case may change hearts on death penalty
Many Americans support capital punishment until they hear a story or meet someone who makes it personal to them, anti-death penalty activist Melissa Browning says. “Everything changes when you see it through the eyes of someone who is personally affected,” said…
Student social media sparks race controversy for Christian school
The headmaster of a private Christian school started by First Baptist Church in Orlando, Fla., said Aug. 25 that he is taking “deliberate steps” to deal with students who created a social media controversy by posting racially insensitive messages on…
American Baptist group affirms children’s home decision to decline donation
American Baptist leaders have issued a statement of solidarity with an Oklahoma charity in the news for refusing to accept a donation given in honor of an atheist group. American Baptist Home Mission Societies released a statement Aug. 25 affirming…
Passion, not money, needed for vibrant young adult ministries, study shows
Younger Americans are abandoning organized religion in ever greater numbers and it’s no shock that churches can’t control the underlying social forces driving that decline. But they aren’t totally powerless, either, says Kristina Lizardy-Hajbi, director of the United Church of Christ’s…
CBF affirms top exec in the process of divorce
Cooperative Baptist Fellowship leaders released statements Aug. 25 affirming the leadership of Executive Coordinator Suzii Paynter in light of her pending divorce.
Baptist children’s home declined gift from atheists, but fund will still benefit the cause
An atheist whose $100 donation to a Baptist charity in Oklahoma was declined has turned the gift into seed money for a GoFundMe campaign fund that now has drawn tens of thousands of dollars and is growing. Matt Wilbourn of…
Transitions for the week of 08.26.16
New staff changes, retirements, deaths and anniversaries from around the nation, updated weekly.
Students’ art project generates big bucks for Zambian orphans
Artwork created by several U.S. university students has fired up the imaginations and spirits of Zambian orphans and generated tens of thousands of dollars to help those struggling with disease and poverty in the African nation.
New Baptist Covenant links white, black churches in ministry
A Baptist inner-city minister says he sees parallels today to the disappointment with white moderate attitudes expressed 53 years ago in Martin Luther King’s famous “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.” “I honestly think silence of the church in this era…
Baptist editor eyeing case of Muslim suspended for refusing to serve booze
A Baptist state newspaper editor says a Muslim flight attendant who sued ExpressJet airlines for suspending her because she refused to serve alcohol to passengers could be a test case on whether courts use a double standard in adjudicating religious…