I recently spent a memorable and meaningful few days with a group of music ministers. Throughout our times of worship, breakouts and social interaction, I had many significant conversations with these men and women about their life in the 21st…
OPINION: The nature of conversion
This past June, during the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s General Assembly in Greensboro, I had the privilege of attending a workshop led by Dr. Bill Leonard, one of my former Wake Forest professors. This workshop was titled “Take Me to the…
‘So many Baptists’ at Wild Goose
By Jeff Brumley The third-annual Wild Goose Festival opened Thursday in the mountains of North Carolina, with organizers and many participants hoping the outdoor gathering will heal divisions between conservative, progressive and moderate Christians. National leaders of the “Christian convergence”…
Minister in custody in Ala. murder
By Bob Allen An associate pastor at First Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala., was taken into custody Aug. 8 in connection with his wife’s slaying two weeks earlier. The Homewood Police Department said Richard Shahan came in voluntarily on Aug….
Minister in custody in Ala. murder
By Bob Allen An associate pastor at First Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala., was taken into custody Aug. 8 in connection with his wife’s slaying two weeks earlier. The Homewood Police Department said Richard Shahan came in voluntarily on Aug….
When small churches merge with large ones
By Jeff Brumley Some see the nation’s burgeoning church merger and multisite movements resulting from larger congregations preying on smaller ones, pressuring them into relinquishing buildings and land in exchange for survival. In some circles, that’s called “steeple-jacking.” But it’s…
Baptist camp hosts pistol class
By Bob Allen A Southern Baptist camp in Illinois plans to host a National Rifle Association pistol course intended to help participants qualify for permits under the state’s newly passed concealed-carry law. The eight-hour course is scheduled for Saturday, Sept….
Ethicist criticizes Rangel’s ‘cracker’ remark
By Bob Allen A moderate Baptist ethicist compared Rep. Charlie Rangel’s recent use of the term “white cracker” to cooking celebrity Paula Deen and NFL player Riley Cooper using the “N-word.” The difference, Robert Parham of the Baptist Center for…
Baptists put backs into ‘Loving Oklahoma’
By Jeff Brumley This week’s “Loving Oklahoma” campaign comes at just the right moment for disaster-response coordinators who are launching a new phase in the recovery from May’s deadly tornadoes. “We are in the process of switching from cleanup to…
London calling: Baptist wins song contest
By Bob Allen The minister of worship at CBF-affiliated Snyder Memorial Baptist Church in Fayetteville, N.C., is London-bound after winning a worldwide worship music contest. On Tuesday Integrity Music Europe named Giles Blankenship’s “You Are There” winner of its 2013…
Refugees reap blessing after Okla. twisters
By Jeff Brumley It was 97 degrees in Oklahoma City Friday afternoon, and the 22-mph wind made it even hotter as Missourian Amy Heap and her misson team from CrossHaven Church spent hours unloading four box trucks containing furniture. But heat…
Ministry leaders blast whistleblower
By Bob Allen Sovereign Grace Ministries in Louisville, Ky., has released a statement adopted in May by the organization’s leaders commending founder C.J. Mahaney and denouncing a former associate turned vocal critic of the well-known evangelical leader. A website posting…