By Bob Allen Curtis Ramsey-Lucas, managing director of resource development for American Baptist Home Mission Societies, has been named director of interfaith engagement for an outreach arm of the American Association of People with Disabilities. In an agreement between the…
Love your neighbor: Christ’s command inspires action and advocacy
By Ken Camp Some Christians provide shelter for the homeless or food for hungry people. Others engage in social activism or public policy advocacy. What’s love got to do with it? Everything, many who are involved in those efforts insist….
Baptist-endorsed Army chaplain on front lines of Liberia Ebola battle
By Jeff Brumley Arm bumps instead of handshakes and twice-a-day temperature checks are among the steps taken by U.S. military personnel on the frontlines in the war against Ebola in Libera, says a U.S. Army chaplain endorsed by the Cooperative…
Anti-abuse group archives member stories
By Bob Allen A victims’ advocate says she believes it’s important to talk about a Southern Baptist megachurch’s mishandling of alleged child sex abuse 25 years ago so other churches don’t repeat the same mistakes today. “This is a story…
Baptist takes multisite feature to churches looking for ‘good preaching’
By Jeff Brumley One of the most pressing needs of struggling churches — good preaching — has inspired a Baptist pastor to launch a company providing a streaming sermon service. “This is something I have been thinking about for years,” said Jim…
Emotions mixed for pro-gay ERLC conference attendees
By Bob Allen Pro-LGBT Christians attending this week’s Southern Baptist Convention conference on sexuality said they disagreed with much of what they heard in messages from the platform but were encouraged by the tone and their reception at the Oct….
Baptists seek guidance as same-sex marriage expands
By Jeff Brumley The widening legality of same-sex marriage has ministers and churches across the nation scrambling to respond. And Baptist pastors are right in the thick of what is in some quarters a frantic search for the right theologies…
Speakers say holiness, not heterosexuality, goal of outreach to gays
By Bob Allen The goal of ministry to gays and lesbians isn’t to make them heterosexual, three speakers said Oct. 28 at a Southern Baptist Convention-sponsored conference on the gospel and homosexuality. It’s to make them holy. Rosaria Champagne Butterfield,…
Houston withdraws controversial subpoenas of pastors’ sermons
By BNG staff Houston Mayor Annise Parker announced Oct. 29 the city will withdraw subpoenas of five pastors which lawyers had sought as evidence in a legal suit seeking repeal of the city’s non-discrimination ordinance, the Houston Chronicle reported today….
ABC authorizes emergency grant for Liberian Baptists
By BNG staff The American Baptist Churches USA has approved an emergency grant of $120,000 to provide food and medical supplies to Liberia, the West African nation hardest hit by the Ebola outbreak, the denomination announced Oct. 28. The grant,…
BWA reconfirms 2015 Africa congress
By Jeff Brumley The 21st Baptist World Congress will convene as planned in Durban, South Africa, next year despite disease and travel concerns in Africa, Neville Callam, general secretary of the Baptist World Alliance, said in a news release Oct. 27….
As churches grapple with mental illness, ministers open up
By Jeff Brumley Robin Williams’ suicide in August sparked a wave of articles on mental health issues, including many gauging society’s knowledge and sensitivity toward persons with mental illnesses. Christian writers and media outlets pondered whether the modern church is…