By Bob Allen The Baptist leader of a North Carolina public policy advocacy group credited pressure from conservative Christians for a House vote overriding the governor’s veto of a bill allowing state court officials to refuse to perform same-sex marriages…
Baptists open safe house for human trafficking victims
By Vicki Brown Savannah Oswald elbowed her way through the crowds on Black Friday 2014, searching for the cutest clothes she could find for her limited bucks. The then-high school senior cast a practiced eye over the racks and nabbed…
Church apologizes for botched discipline case
By Bob Allen A Southern Baptist megachurch has made amends for disciplining a church member for leaving her husband after learning he is addicted to child pornography. In a face-to-face meeting June 3, Matt Chandler, pastor of The Village Church,…
Meeting in Ohio, SBC grapples with numerical decline
By Bob Allen The Southern Baptist Convention lost more than 200,000 members last year, according to statistics released just ahead of the 2015 SBC annual meeting in Columbus, Ohio. Annual statistics compiled by LifeWay Christian Resources, the convention’s publishing arm,…
Connecting faith and sports can be challenging, says seminary professor
By Jeff Brumley John White has competed against some of the world’s top athletes — and ministered to still more of them. “I raced against [future three-time Tour de France winner] Greg LeMond once and he would never know this, but…
Baptist leader applauds papal message on environment
By Bob Allen A Baptist ethicist welcomed Pope Francis’ upcoming encyclical on the environment as “a hinge moment” not only for Catholics. “The environment needs to be at the heart of the Christian moral agenda, and it isn’t,” Robert Parham…
Baptist judge orders recognition of gay marriage
By Bob Allen An Arkansas judge who ruled June 9 the state must recognize 500 same-sex marriages that were performed during a six-day window in May 2014 moonlights as a Cooperative Baptist Fellowship pastor and is a well-known speaker at…
Students find a framework for saying ‘yes’ to God’s call
by Greg Jarrell Students exploring a spiritual vocation — and looking to discover ways to say “yes” to God’s call — say that a summer program just beginning in five locations around the country will provide the framework they need to begin…
Church on a tight budget? Renovate, don’t build
By Vicki Brown Some churches, it seems, are impervious to prevailing economic forces that have kept many congregations building for years. But not Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church in California, which recently accounted a three-year, $71 million fundraising campaign to, in…
Saddleback Church raising $71 million in largest campaign
By Bob Allen Members of Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church have pledged to give $71 million over the next three years in the most ambitious fundraising campaign in the Southern Baptist megachurch’s 35-year history. Warren, who started the Southern California congregation…
Mohler says Campolo’s reversal on homosexuality abandons Scripture
By Bob Allen A Southern Baptist leader expressed sadness but not surprise at Tony Campolo’s announcement June 8 that he supports full inclusion of gays and lesbians into the life of the church. Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological…
Baptist scholars urge churches adopt in-depth theological teaching for lay people
By Jeff Brumley Ongoing spiritual formation for adults at Northminster Baptist Church in Jackson, Miss., goes way beyond Sunday school. In fact, it borders on divinity school. “Right now in our two-year study … we are studying Bible, church history…