Baptist News Global

There is life after the storm

In 1994 I was serving at the First Baptist Church of Williams near Jacksonville, Ala. when a tornado touched down on Palm Sunday near Ragland and cut a trail to Rome, Ga., demolishing hundreds of homes, destroying five church campuses,…

Do churches operate on need-to-know?

By Vicki Brown Many churches have cut back the number of business meetings held each year. Some have scaled back publications — particularly mailed-out print versions. Some large churches with communications staff or a department have eliminated them or severely…

Using secrecy to control

By Vicki Brown Baptists follow the congregational form of church governance — every member who wants to can have a say in the way the church and the denomination operate. But how much access does the average church member have…

Social media aids Baptist fact-finders

By Vicki Brown Do people in the pew have any options for finding information if their local church, state organization or national denominational body refuses do divulge it? Not many — but technology and government offer a couple of options….

Religious leaders react to BSA decision

By Jeff Brumley Boy Scouts of America on May 23 decided it will no longer deny membership on the basis of sexual orientation. The new policy, which takes effect in January, is already being met with the expected backlash from…

Okla. twister spawns God’s wrath debate

By Jeff Brumley The monstrous twister had barely finished its deadly work in Moore, Okla., on May 20 when the usual voices of judgment and condemnation began echoing across the Internet. Westboro Baptist Church’s Fred Phelps Jr. tweeted that the…

Despite superficial changes, racial reconciliation in Richmond remains elusive, says panel

RICHMOND — Like many American cities, Richmond has reduced the more visible signs of rancor among different races, but racial reconciliation remains elusive, said a panel of activists and observers of Virginia’s capital. The panelists shared their views at the…

Lincoln’s religious influence in forging Emancipation Proclamation still evident after 150 years

RICHMOND — A “profound spiritual odyssey” prompted Abraham Lincoln’s forging of the Emancipation Proclamation, one of “the most revolutionary documents ever signed by an American president,” a prominent religious historian told a conference on racial reconciliation. “Not much attention has…

Christian ‘nones’?

By Bill Leonard Not at the Jordan River, but in that flowing stream stood John the Baptist preacher when he baptized Him. John was a Baptist preacher when he baptized the Lamb, so Jesus was a Baptist and thus the…

BGCT board seeks OK to explore sale

By Ken Camp Messengers to the Baptist General Convention of Texas annual meeting in San Antonio this summer will consider a recommendation to grant the BGCT executive board authority to sell the Baptist Building in Dallas. The board at its May meeting…

Hobby Lobby case in federal court

By Jeff Brumley A federal appeals court will hear oral arguments May 23 in Hobby Lobby’s claim that the contraception mandate in President Obama’s health-care policies violates its religious freedoms. A federal judge ruled in November 2012 that the company was not…

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