Baptist News Global

The time is now to preach justice, Blackmon urges CBF

“Now is the time” to proclaim a gospel that sets people free, activist and theologian Traci D. Blackmon told participants at the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s Dr. Emmanuel McCall Racial Justice Trailblazer luncheon June 25 in St. Louis. The annual event…

High court allows exclusion of Planned Parenthood as Medicaid provider

A South Carolina woman does not have the right to sue the state over its exclusion of Planned Parenthood as a Medicaid provider, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled June 26. Writing for the conservative majority in a 6-3 decision, Justice…

CBF session explores responses to sexual abuse in congregations

One learning lab at the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s General Assembly asked attendees to consider what their church would do if abuse happened in their congregation. Jay Kieve, CBF’s abuse prevention and response advocate, joined attorney David Cooke to talk through…

CBF ratifies downsized budget, elects slate of new leaders

The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship adopted a downsized budget and elected new leaders during its General Assembly in St. Louis June 24-26. The 2025-26 budget — which takes effect when CBF’s fiscal year begins Aug. 1 — calls for expenditures of…

The inhumanity of SBC leaders’ indifference

“Where are the SBC leaders who will call Allen Jordan to account?” This was the question Mark Wingfield posed in a June 24 column, and I’ve been pondering it ever since. In part, I ponder this because it’s personal —…

Courage and dignity needed in fight for equality, Raushenbush says

The church must demonstrate courage, demand dignity and fight for equality as attacks against religious freedom and LGBTQ people spread throughout the nation, Interfaith Alliance President Paul Raushenbush said. “The root of the word ‘courage’ is ‘cor,’ or heart,” he…

MAGA coalesces around evangelical support for Israel in bombing Iran

Robert Jeffress not only supports President Donald Trump’s bombing of Iran, but his publicist sent out a news release to make sure everyone understands he does. In last Sunday morning’s sermon — delivered hours after Trump ordered massive bombs dropped…

Michael Jackson’s legacy still shapes music, culture and careers

Sixteen years ago today, on June 25, 2009, the world stood still. Michael Joseph Jackson — The King of Pop — died suddenly at age 50. His voice, vision and unmatched creativity remain unmatched, and although he left the earthly…

Find purpose beyond church growth or decline, Burge urges CBF

“Your church probably is not growing, and that’s OK,” Ryan Burge, a leading analyst of politics and religion, told a Cooperative Baptist Fellowship gathering June 24 in St. Louis. But that doesn’t signal a cause for apathy or despair, he…

Supreme Court clears way for third-country deportations

The Trump administration may deport undocumented immigrants to countries other than their own, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled June 23. The unsigned order reverses a lower court ruling granting unauthorized noncitizens an opportunity to demonstrate the risk of persecution, torture…

Abbott signs Texas Ten Commandments bill, setting up court fight

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has signed legislation mandating Ten Commandments displays in public school classrooms beginning Sept. 1 despite the threat of litigation from civil liberties groups. Abbott’s office said the governor signed the measure June 21 along with more…

When lies pass for truth, the light dims for all of us

When lies pass for the truth, something in democracy disappears. Since conservatives insist liberals are lying and liberals insist conservatives are lying, somebody in the house of democracy is not telling the truth. The standard theme of anti-Trumpers long has…

The wicked are punished — or not

What Ryan Burge sees in America’s megachurches

We are a nation of immigrants

As worldwide deaths mount, Musk insists DOGE cuts didn’t kill anyone