The most common question I got from people when they learned that I was traveling to Jordan was, “Do you think it is safe?” My response was, “I don’t think the Jordanian government would invite us unless they thought it…
How can Christians really help the poor?
By Ken Camp Everyone agrees that Christians ought to help those truly in need but differ on how best to help the poor. Experts say that developing a strategy based on the needs of a particular community can help churches…
Former CBF worker dies from cancer
This story was edited after posting to correct an error in the second paragraph. By Bob Allen Terry Walton, a 15-year employee of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship in Atlanta, died Oct. 17 at her home in Cornelia, Ga., with complications…
Christians protest use of Asian stereotypes
By Bob Allen More than 80 Asian-American Christians have signed an open letter to evangelicals calling for an end to racial stereotyping of Asians in religious literature. Christian leaders including Ken Fong, a California Baptist pastor who spoke at the…
Compassion fatigue hinders aid to poor
By Ken Camp Chronic poverty, hunger and homelessness can leave even the most committed Christian feeling overwhelmed and defeated. “After you finish providing one set of meals, more hungry people are in line right behind them. And there’s more after…
SBC leader says don’t talk to press
By Bob Allen There’s no room in the church for whistleblowers, a Southern Baptist seminary president said in a chapel sermon Oct. 15. Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary President Paige Patterson said the prohibition in First Corinthians 6 on church members…
Former assn. secretary sentenced for theft
By Bob Allen The former financial secretary at an Alabama Baptist association will spend the night in jail for a year after pleading guilty of theft. Tonya Renee Woodward, 52, confessed in August to stealing money from the Columbia Baptist…
How can Christians really help the poor? Develop a strategy, say advocates
Though Christians seem to disagree about how best to help the poor, experts agree that developing a strategy based on the needs of a particular community will help churches minister to the needy around them. Giving money to a person…
Veteran urban minister suggests Oath for Compassionate Service
Christians motivated by compassion for the poor need to make sure both mercy and justice guide their actions, said Robert Lupton, based on his four decades of experience in urban ministry. Robert Lupton has proposed what he calls an…
Staying motivated for service among the poor demands discipline
Chronic poverty, hunger and homelessness can leave even the most committed Christian activists feeling overwhelmed and defeated. “After you finish providing one set of meals, more hungry people are in line right behind them. And there’s more after them. It’s…
Austin Angel House feeds homeless and hungry for nearly three decades
For 27 years, Austin Baptist Chapel — known to most of the people it serves as “Angel House” — has served hot lunches to the homeless and hungry in Texas’s capital city. “Our homeless guests several years into the ministry…
Intentional Christian communities live and serve among the poor
In one of northern Philadelphia’s most-dangerous neighborhoods, a 20-person Christian group thrives, embracing a lifestyle of radical community. Shane Claiborne, leader of the 10 households in the Kensington neighborhood, helped found The Simple Way in 1995 as a faith community…