As the Southern Baptist Convention in its recent annual meeting has proved itself unreliably Baptist, it gives me pause to think about how quickly the transmogrification of this Baptist denomination into its ecclesiastical opposite has happened. Baptist folk often have...
Without diminishing the grief felt at the shuttering seminaries, it is useful to take a longer perspective on the recent headlines. These institutional changes are neither as unexpected nor as unprecedented as they seem.
A large charter bus sat in the parking lot, exhaust brakes hissing. Several rooms in the conference center were full of large suitcases, most of them looking brand new. I knew they couldn’t have belonged to the small group of…
A question I have been asking myself lately is, “Does evangelism have a place in Cooperative Baptist Fellowship life?” I couldn’t help but feel the passion around so many issues at this year’s CBF General Assembly. LGBTQ, women in ministry,…
As a child, one of my pastor’s favorite songs was “Happiness Is.” The tune echoes the upbeat refrain, “Happiness is to know the Savior. … Happiness is the Lord.” Instead of virtue, faith and encouragement, 21st-century U.S. culture violates innocence…
Mapping congregational or community assets to identify and implement new programs and ministries doesn’t necessarily require professional expertise, according to a CBF minister experienced in the practice common in community development work. “It’s really for anybody,” said Jenny Hodge, a…
Arkansas Baptist College held a grand opening Aug. 25 for an institute researching black-on-black crime, named in honor of a student slain while helping someone change a tire just off the edge of campus in 2012. The Derek Olivier Research…
A former member of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s national staff has been tapped to lead the Tennessee CBF, one of 18 autonomous state and regional organizations that relate to the 1,800-church Fellowship. Rick Bennett, pastor of First Baptist Church in…
When Vous Church was born last fall, Pastor Rich Wilkerson Jr. was already almost famous, having officiated the wedding of Kanye West and Kim Kardashian and attended to the soul, such as it is, of Justin Bieber.
Some claim a practice meant to protect marginalized communities can also ostracize those who disagree with them. Others argue being aware of students’ traumatic experiences and giving them a heads up is basic human decency.
It’s that time of year again. New books, backpacks, technology, schedules, classes and teachers conspire with learners to develop their lives. At every level of education, including graduate study in seminaries, the goal is to engage students in the practices…
For the last half of the 20th century in America, local churches functioned as programmatic centers of activity. Embedded in a supportive churched and Christian culture, their role was to provide offerings that inspired, entertained and educated those who chose…
Talk about missional. St. Paul Community Baptist Church in Brooklyn, N.Y., and its pastor, David Brawley, have made headlines for their efforts to reach out to, and transform, the communities around them. The congregation lent its muscle to efforts to…
