Baptist News Global

In spite of declining attendance and increasing costs, leaders say annual meetings have a future

’Tis the season for Baptist annual meetings. But will declining numbers, the expense of gathering people for face-to-face encounters and rapid advances in technology soon mean the demise of the rite? Not necessarily and probably not anytime soon. Fellowship and…

Denominations: Dying or transforming into something new?

Do Baptist annual meetings matter if denominations themselves are dying? Some leaders believe denominationalism isn’t dying, but rather is undergoing metamorphosis. Those willing and flexible enough to change still will need the community and networking annual meetings offer. “Denominationalism is…

EDITORIAL: Movin’ on

As I write this, the Southern Baptist Convention is winding up its annual meeting in Houston and one of the voices raised was that of Fred Luter, convention president. Divisions among Southern Baptists must end, Luter said. As reported by…

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ANALYSIS: Some suggest unity at SBC meeting resulted from taking on cultural issues, not themselves

HOUSTON (ABP) — Southern Baptists experienced little antagonism during their annual convention in Houston last week — a phenomenon that surprised some and delighted most SBC officials and messengers. There were plenty of opportunities for controversy. Debates ensued — but…

SBC condemns Boy Scouts’ decision on gays but stops short of boycott

HOUSTON (ABP) — The Southern Baptist Convention stopped short of urging churches to sever ties with the Boy Scouts of America in a June 11 resolution condemning the organization’s recent decision to drop its ban on Scouts who are openly…

Leaders hope report on Calvinism will ease tensions between proponents and opponents in SBC

HOUSTON (ABP) — Growing disagreements over the role of Calvinism will make the Southern Baptist Convention stronger, not weaker, as long as its focus remains on evangelism, members of an advisory team commissioned to study the topic told hundreds in…

Called the ‘guy we need on the scene,’ Fred Luter reelected convention president

HOUSTON (BP) — Fred Luter Jr., pastor of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans, was re-elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention June 11. Luter, whose historic election in 2012 as the SBC’s first African-American president was a milestone…

SBC urges action on mental health, resolving to provide ‘biblical counsel’ for people with disorders

HOUSTON (ABP) — Compared to Southern Baptist Convention resolutions on the Boy Scouts and protection of children from sex predators, the one urging churches to develop intentional, compassionate ministries for the mentally ill got scant attention from local and national…

BJC names communication head

By Bob Allen Cherilyn Crowe, the associate director of communications for the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty since 2009, has been promoted to department director. Crowe worked nine years as a producer for NewsChannel 5 Network (WTVF-TV) in Nashville,…

Back from the bridge

By Amy Butler Almost 50 years ago her world fell apart. Teenage angst plus serious, debilitating mental illness led her one biting winter day to the rail of a bridge, one leg over the side, ready to say goodbye to…

Supreme Court slides into partisanship

Before the fireworks, be careful what you drink

The contemptible case of Clarence Thomas

The permanent paradoxes of Christian thinking about war