Financial stress is overtaking many church planters, leading some to even consider quitting the calling altogether, new research shows. An April study by The Barna Group found that only 41 percent of church planters feel personally secure in their finances,…
Motivated by faith, couple rescues siblings through adoption
Since the day they got married, George and Agatha Wall dreamed about having a large family. They both grew up in large families — Agatha with nine siblings, George with seven. They longed for little feet running down the halls and…
CBF, New Baptist Covenant team up for civil rights event
The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and New Baptist Covenant will host an offsite event June 24 at the International Civil Rights Center and Museum focusing on advocacy and racial reconciliation during the 2016 CBF General Assembly in Greensboro, N.C. Attendees will…
Trafficking sting nets children’s minister
A children’s pastor at a Southern Baptist church was among 32 people arrested in a three-day human trafficking sting operation in Knoxville, Tenn., law enforcement officials announced May 20. Jason Kennedy, 46, children’s pastor for birth through fifth grade at…
Baptist leader asks Fla. governor to reject transgender bathroom order
A Florida Baptist executive penned an open letter May 18 urging the state’s governor to ignore directions from the Obama administration to allow transgender students to use the school bathroom of their choice instead of the one that corresponds to…
Do No Harm Act seeks to rein in RFRA claims
Some who 23 years ago worked for passage of a law ensuring broad protection of religious freedom say now the Religious Freedom Restoration Act needs tweaking so it can’t be used to discriminate against others. Groups including Americans United for…
Prior to Ky. primary, Clinton appears at joint Baptist worship service
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton drew inspiration from a joint worship service combining two Kentucky Baptist congregations working to build community unity during a campaign visit to Louisville in advance of Tuesday’s Kentucky primary. The Democratic candidate for president began…
Transitions for the week of 05.20.16
The latest staff moves, church news and more, updated weekly.
Author says women’s narratives shed new light on SBC conflict
Scholars have analyzed and dissected the turbulent period of 1979-1990 in the Southern Baptist Convention known collectively as the conservative resurgence, fundamentalist takeover or SBC holy war from almost every angle, but until recently most have focused on only half…
Texas Baptist school allows limited campus carry
Breaking ranks with most private colleges opting out of a state law requiring public universities to allow handguns in dorms, classrooms and campus buildings, East Texas Baptist University will allow the president to authorize selected full-time faculty or staff who…
How Jeanne Bishop forgave her sister’s killer and is working for his good.
It took Jeanne Bishop 20 years just to speak his name. That, she believed, would attribute a level of humanity to the man who shot her pregnant sister and brother-in-law to death in their own house — a level of…
Ed Stetzer leaving LifeWay for Wheaton College
Missiologist and researcher Ed Stetzer is leaving after nine years as executive director of LifeWay Research to become executive director of the Billy Graham Center for Evangelism at Wheaton College, the Christian liberal arts school near Chicago announced May 16….