Baptist News Global

OUT LOUD

“Mormonism isn’t a denomination. It’s a different religion but calling it a ‘cult’ is not helpful.” Ed Stetzer The president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s LifeWay Research, in a tweet. (RNS) “Praise the Lord and pass the rattlesnakes, brother.” Mack…

LEADERSHIP LINK: No more giant appsâ€”a browser is all you need

In my bookshelf sits a copy of the B&H Publishing Group classic trade book from 1991, Help, There’s a Computer in My Church! Suprisingly, I have yet to be able to convince our leadership team to convert it into ePub….

LEADERSHIP LINK: Does your church conduct an annual audit?

For most of us the term “audit” calls to mind the potential of being notified by the IRS that our income tax returns will be scrutinized by their examiners. But the term simply means to examine or evaluate. Originally it…

HERITAGE: A bold friend to truth

Julian Howell Pentecost felt called to the ministry as a young boy. He once confided his feelings to his mother who prayed for God’s guidance. He was affirmed by his home church, Lawrenceville Baptist Church. In 1942 he entered the…

EDITORIAL: And now in conclusion …

Editor’s note: When Julian Pentecost penned his final editorial upon his retirement after 22 years as editor, I doubt that he imagined it would also serve as a kind of eulogy. But as I read through many of his editorials…

Measured by ministry to â€˜the least of these,â€™ how do Christians fare?

When it comes to judging livestock, some Baptists have a beef with sheep and goats. In Matthew 25:31-46, Jesus describes Judgment Day, with all the nations gathered around God’s throne and people separated into two groups—sheep on one side, goats…

Taize experience spiritually enriching for thousands

CHICAGO (RNS)—Every year, some 100,000 pilgrims trek to the Taize ecumenical community in France where the biggest attraction is the music, a throwback—way, way back, about 1,500 years or so—to repetitive plainchant. Last month, for the first time, the Taize…

A new generation of snake-handling Christians is revitalizing a century-old faith tradition

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (RNS)—Andrew Hamblin’s Facebook page is filled with snippets of his life. Making a late-night run to Taco Bell. Watching SpongeBob on the couch with his kids. Handling rattlesnakes in church. Hamblin, 21, pastor of Tabernacle Church of God…

Interreligious dialogue is nothing new, but ministers and others are changing the way they do it

Interfaith dialogue is on the rise, not just in formal conversations led by judicatory leaders but in local communities where friendships forge as ministers of various faiths work together for common goals amid increasing religious diversity in the Bible belt….

BGAV annual available as a download

RICHMOND, Va.—The 2011 Baptist General Association of Virginia Annual—a compilation of statistics and data—is available this year as a download rather than a CD, the BGAV’s communcations office has announced. The download can be accessed at www.vbmb.org/annual. “We continue to…

TRENDING: The stuck and broken?

Recently, I was part of a conversation with 10 pastors discussing discipleship. All agreed that their churches were producing exactly what they were engineered to produce: attenders. There’s nothing wrong with attending church. You just can’t say attending church automatically…

Potential first African-American president says SBC shouldnâ€™t be defined by race

NEW ORLEANS (RNS)—The Southern Baptist Convention began in 1845 in support of slaveholders and is now poised to elect its first African-American president, Fred Luter Jr., in June. “It’s a new day in the [SBC],” Luter told the PBS program…

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