By Bob Allen The city council in Charlotte, N.C., passed an ordinance Feb. 22 to prevent businesses from discriminating against LGBT customers, setting the stage for a battle with the Republican-controlled state legislature. Council members voted 7-4 in favor of…
IMB regains financial footing, president says
More than enough Southern Baptist Convention missionaries and International Mission Board staff accepted incentives to step down voluntarily to balance the IMB budget without any forced termination of overseas personnel, board president David Platt announced Feb. 24. Addressing IMB trustees…
SBC boots church for allowing pastor to officiate gay wedding
A representative body authorized to act on behalf of the Southern Baptist Convention between annual meetings voted Feb. 23 to remove a South Carolina church for allowing its pastor to conduct a same-sex wedding. The SBC Executive Committee, an 83-member…
Catholics and Jews move closer together, leaving evangelicals to ponder
Some evangelical leaders say Christians should avoid the Catholic lead in not proselytizing Jews, but a rabbi and Baptist minister say sincere relationship building is essential. Catholic and Jewish leaders recently exchanged documents affirming the authenticity of each other’s faiths….
Preaching expert James Cox dies
Baptist professor James W. Cox, recognized as a leading authority on preaching and one of the most influential teachers in the field of homiletics, died Feb. 21 in Louisville, Ky. He was 93. Cox, author and editor of dozens of…
BJC’s Walker says Scalia was no friend of religious liberty
Justice Antonin Scalia will be remembered as a towering figure on the U.S. Supreme Court for his intellect and his wit but not as a friend to religious liberty and the separation of church and state, a Baptist church-state expert…
Trading membership for discipleship helping churches, Christians
With some 2,500 on the rolls and 850 in worship every weekend, Shandon United Methodist Church was getting about 130 new members a year. Most of them were under 40. Most of them had young children. Sounds great, right? Not…
BJC’s Walker says Scalia was no friend of religious liberty
By Bob Allen Justice Antonin Scalia will be remembered as a towering figure on the U.S. Supreme Court for his intellect and his wit but not as a friend to religious liberty and the separation of church and state,…
EWTN loses contraception coverage appeal in federal court
A religious broadcaster took one on the chin Thursday when federal judges ruled that government-mandated contraception and other health requirements pose little burden on religious beliefs. “We are extremely disappointed that the Court has refused to protect our religious freedom,”…
Crawford to retire as BTSR’s president
Ron Crawford, president of Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond since 2007, will retire next year, the school announced today. Crawford, who is the second president of the 25-year-old BTSR, will step down on July 1, 2017. He will be 65…
Clergy urge politicians to engage refugees with compassion, not fear
Americans supporting the compassionate treatment of refugees are expressing their conviction in a variety of ways and places. It can include fundraising and ministering directly to “the least of these” to sharing their beliefs across social media. And for churches, clergy…
Transitions for the week of 02.19.16
STAFF CHANGES Jim Baliff, resigning after 10 years as interim minister of music/associate pastor at First Baptist Church, Ringgold, Ga., effective this summer. Jack Causey, concluding his tenure as ministerial transitions coordinator for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina,…