Sometimes, being missional requires creativity in the development of new ministries. At other times, it means recognizing the innovation of others and simply offering a helping hand. A North Carolina couple is modeling the latter approach by getting behind a…
Tim Kaine to address Baptist group
Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton’s running mate U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine will represent the campaign at this week’s Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc., annual gathering in New Orleans. Kaine (D-Va.) is scheduled to speak at 10 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 11,…
Former youth pastor sentenced for abuse
A former youth pastor at a prominent Southern Baptist church in Louisiana was sentenced Aug. 8 to 10 years in prison after confessing to sex crimes committed against a 13-year-old girl.
Providing ‘a hand up’ to ministers struggling with credit card, student loan debt
Mental health, congregational politics and the decline of the American church get much of the blame for minister burnout. But consultant Bo Prosser says all of those factors take a back seat to the financial struggles of pastoral leaders.
Evangelicals urge halt to Texas execution
Four dozen evangelical leaders in Texas and across the nation issued an open letter Aug. 9 seeking to stop the execution of an 18-year death-row inmate scheduled to be executed Aug. 24.
Ouachita Baptist University tops larger universities in school spirit, according to Forbes
Ouachita Baptist University has won the Forbes Magazine’s 2016 #MyTopCollege competition, eclipsing much larger schools in a month-long social media contest demonstrating school spirit.
Shedding light on the Old Testament’s great villain — the Philistines
Baylor University religion professor Deirdre Fulton is in the middle of a three-year dig that is shedding light on the lives, beliefs and practices of a group often villainized in the Old Testament: the Philistines.
For a congregation in Spain, feeding ministry defines identity
Feeding people does more than satiate their hunger. Daniel Banyuls, pastor of Iglesia Evangelica Bautista in Cerdanyola, Spain, can testify to that. “Through this feeding ministry, we are fighting material, educational, emotional and spiritual poverty,” Banyuls said. Banyuls has served…
Former pastor says racism a factor in his dismissal
The pastor of a small Southern Baptist church in Alabama is out of a job following a dispute he says began when two deacons asked him not to invite African-American children to Vacation Bible School. Mount Sterling Baptist Church in…
Transitions for the week of 08.05.16
Please submit transitions — including staff changes, ordinations, anniversaries or deaths — to Barbara Francis. This page will be updated weekly. STAFF CHANGES John Baldwin, to Berea Baptist Church, Rockville, Va., as pastor. He comes from the pastorate of Glenn Memorial…
New ‘stable of preachers’ frees small-church pastors for sabbaticals
Five decades. That’s how long Ken Hale served small Baptist churches without an extended break. But that streak finally ended last fall when long-time friend and retired pastor Bill Bruster volunteered to stand in for Hale at Trinity Baptist Church…
Study says stained-glass ceiling slowly lifting in churches
Openness to calling a woman as senior pastor is growing incrementally in moderate and progressive Baptist churches in the southern United States, according to the latest State of Women in Baptist Life report by Baptist Women in Ministry. “The statistics…