Baptist News Global

Bigger class, new journalism component defines 2015 Mercer On Mission

By Jeff Brumley Mercer University said it will send forth this year its largest Mercer On Mission cohort in the program’s eight-year history. Launched in 2007, Mercer On Mission blends study abroad with research and service. Participants experience a combination…

What kind of church are we building?

By Amy Butler Yesterday when I pronounced the benediction at the end of worship, I told the congregation to gather all the courage they could muster, turn from the work of worship, and go out to change the world. Honestly,…

A Scripture lesson on fundamentalism (and how progressives differ from conservatives)

The seventh chapter of John offers some important insights into the nature of fundamentalism. Consider the following: Now some of the people of Jerusalem were saying, “Is not this the man whom they are trying to kill? And here…

God’s Funeral

Although I don’t know that he said anything about a funeral, perhaps the best known statement about God’s demise was made by philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, who declared “God is dead” in his 1882 book “The Gay Science” (with “gay” being…

Do churches fail the poor?

Rise in nonreligious Americans could affect elections

Losing faith: A religious leader on America’s disillusionment with church

Mark Driscoll returns: Ex-Mars Hill pastor gets standing ovation at Mill Creek Church

Can we be moderate and judgmental at the same time?

The first clue should have been when the Internet trolls didn’t immediately show up and condemn me as a liberal heretic. And then when some normally affirming voices fell curiously silent, it became obvious something was amiss. This response—or lack…

The new normal for churches

By Scott Dickison Reading the by-now-infamous Pew Research Center’s report on the state of religious affiliation in America this past week, I was taken back to a conversation I had as a divinity school student with an undergraduate considering ministry….

Popular ‘it’s a God thing’ phrase reveals troubling theology, pastors say

By Jeff Brumley You may have used this popular phrase a few times yourself. Or maybe you’ve heard others say it when some unexpected miracle happens. “It’s a God thing.” Usually it involves some unbelievable circumstances behind that job promotion,…

Reframing church membership

Shifting from membership to missionary engagements When the world we are called to reach is increasingly secular, unchurched, de-churched and non- interested in church, it’s time to reframe membership policies and practices. ‘Membership’ served a church culture fairly well. Today,…

Theologizing with Larkin Poe, 10 years after Reskinned

Ministry leader with tall tales wins GOP bid for Colorado governor

What Willy Rice once knew

What I learned July 5 at church