LONGWOOD, Fla. (RNS) — There’s a price to pay for becoming the voice of moderate conservatism and coalition politics. Even more so for refusing to march in lockstep with the Republican Party. Ask Joel Hunter of Northland Church, Florida’s largest…
White House says it can’t list Westboro Baptist Church as hate group or remove tax-exempt status
WASHINGTON (RNS) — In response to five “We the People” petitions, the White House condemned the actions of the Westboro Baptist Church but said it is powerless to list the Kansas church as a hate group and remove its tax-exempt…
Pastors whose congregations face foreclosure say it’s vital to act, recall church is not a building
(ABP) — A Missionary Baptist pastor in Anniston, Ala., learned recently that his church faces foreclosure and its building may be auctioned to the highest bidder by the end of the month. The Anniston Star reported that Pastor La’Noan Ealy…
Baptist World Alliance calls for end to Cuba embargo, presents human rights award to Glen Stassen
OCHO RIOS, Jamaica (ABP) — Baptist leaders from around the world called on the United States to lift its half-century-old economic embargo on Cuba in a resolution adopted during the Baptist World Alliance annual gathering July 1-6 in Ocho Rios,…
Experts: VBS needs missional focus
By Jeff Brumley Relatively few of the 90 to 100 children who attend vacation Bible school at Hendricks Avenue Baptist Church each summer are members of the Jacksonville, Fla., congregation. And that’s just fine with children’s minister Faith McCall. Offering…
Pastor treads lightly on Zimmerman trial
By Bob Allen The day after George Zimmerman was found not guilty of the second-degree murder of Sanford, Fla., teenager Trayvon Martin, a local pastor’s sermon series on the Ten Commandments landed on the Sixth Commandment, “thou shalt not kill.”…
Baptists team up for ‘Loving Oklahoma’
By Jeff Brumley The Baptist General Convention of Texas and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship announced today they will host a major disaster-recovery campaign in August for tornado-battered Oklahomans. “Loving Oklahoma” will be held Aug. 5-10 in five areas in the…
Depressed ministers growing concern
By John Hall Many ministers who smile on the outside are withering inside. Research indicates up to 68 percent of ministers are dealing with symptoms related to depression. Depression in ministry has been discussed increasingly since Matthew Warren, the son…
OPINION: Of cucumbers and pickles
Until recently, I hated pickles. I didn’t like the smell or the taste but mostly it was the concept. I felt queasy about eating something sitting in a jar for who knows how long. It seemed too akin to embalming,…
OPINION: The Trayvon Martin case as a symbol
Anyone who followed the Florida v. George Zimmerman court case closely was probably not surprised by the verdict. Even to this legal layman, who saw only snippets of the arguments provided by the media, it seemed that the prosecution’s task…
OPINION: A personal affirmation of Suzii Paynter and CBF
I grew up in Atlanta, Ga. If Texas is the belt buckle of the Bible Belt, Atlanta is that belt’s designer label and matching handbag. Whereas the Church should be a socially-engaged witness in its particular context, my Atlanta church…
Mission trip provides religious liberty lesson
Less than a month after police in the former Soviet state of Georgia intervened to rescue peaceful gay-rights protestors from a religious mob, Baptist young adults from the United States stood alongside Georgian Baptists to speak up for Muslims denied…