Baptist News Global

Transitions for the week of 07.22.16

Please submit transitions — including staff changes, ordinations, anniversaries or deaths — to Barbara Francis. This page will be updated weekly. STAFF CHANGES Lisa Baker, to Wake Forest (N.C.) Baptist Church, as minister to children and families. Elizabeth Banks, to Brook…

Pro-Trump pastor whitewashes history of pastors during Jim Crow — including the history of his church

Whatever role pastors and other clergy had during the fight against slavery and Jim Crow, there is a specific history that pastor Robert Jeffress of First Baptist Church in Dallas is ignoring.

At nearby gas station, congregation offers hospitality

AUDIO STORY | Smoke Rise Baptist Church in Stone Mountain, Ga., lent support and hospitality to their new neighbor, Malik Waliyani, whose nearby BP gas station had been robbed and ransacked just a few days earlier.

Faith and hope

Texas is home to the largest Muslim population in the U.S. But for a new generation of leaders the challenge is to make sure their community feels welcome in their own backyard.

Embracing the power of what we don’t yet know

Can we resist our native evangelical bent for clarity, certainty, closure, purity, decisiveness and (yes) judgment — at least long enough to simultaneously value listening, nuance, creativity and (yes) the fresh wind of the Spirit?

In N. Charleston, justice advocate avoids anger, burnout with centering prayer

Last year was an especially difficult one for folks in and around Charleston, S.C. Bill Stanfield, CEO of a faith-based community development organization, centering prayer emerged as his response.

Pokémon is a no-go for leading Saudi clerics

Pokémon Go has become a no-go according to the leading religious organization of Saudi Arabia, the Reuters News Service has reported. Far from seeing the virtual reality game as a potential lure to houses of worship, the Saudi Muslim clerics…

Missing person case strains family of Missouri Baptist lobbyist

A two-year-old missing person case is taking a toll on the family of a Missouri Baptist lobbyist amid release of new information about the disappearance of 52-year-old Lynn Messer from the family farm in the early morning hours of July 8,…

New GOP platform aims to make the Christian Right even more powerful

Among the new GOP platform’s highlights is a proposal to repeal a 50-year-old tax law that prohibits churches and other tax-exempt organizations from political organizing.

The ‘Garden of Eden’ becomes a UNESCO World Heritage Site

Iraq’s marshlands, which lie in the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, are believed to be the inspiration for the Bible’s Garden of Eden.

Grounded enough to notice when Jesus shows up

I love the city. I first fell in love with metropolitan life as a 20-something pastor in San Francisco. Now, years later, while I still retreat to the mountains or desert or ocean for some extra peace and inspiration, “urban”…

‘Old’ is just a new word

I was recently hit by a trio of insults regarding my age. Let me just say that for the purposes of this column, you don’t need to know how old I am. It is none of your business. (OK, if…

Rubio says US shouldn’t be held accountable by international court

Demands mount as Trump’s ICE agents kill two more people

The real American religion: A July 4 postmortem

9 months later, schools are paying for firing teachers over Kirk posts