Baptist News Global

Pastor facing possible deportation prepares for court, will seek pardon

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (ABP) — A Hispanic Baptist pastor arrested last summer by immigration authorities won't find out until September whether he will be deported for a crime committed in 1995. Hector Villanueva, pastor of Bautista la Rocha in Siler City,…

HERITAGE: The final act

The first offering taken at the new Park View Baptist Church in Portsmouth was for missions. There were 57 charter members and on the day of constitution in 1899 the congregation gave $5.50 for foreign missions. On Sunday, April 3,…

VITAL SIGNS: A church for those who wander

The book of James closes with a most interesting assertion: “My brothers and sisters, if anyone among you wanders from the truth and is brought back by another, you should know that whoever brings back a sinner from wandering will…

OUT LOUD

“To impugn our motives (that we are selling out the Bible for the pottage of popularity), to reduce our concerns about love and justice to sentimentality, to dismiss us with the ‘L’ word and a questionable narrative surrounding it, and…

Tennessee amends anti-Shariah bill

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (RNS) — Tennessee lawmakers are rewriting a bill that described Islamic law as a threat to U.S. security and seemed to equate peaceful Muslim practices with terrorism. State Sen. Bill Ketron and House Speaker Pro Tempore Judd Matheny,…

Christians question conventional wisdom on divorce stats

It’s been proclaimed from pulpits and blogs for years-Christians divorce as much as everyone else in America. But some scholars and family activists are questioning the oft-cited statistics, saying Christians who attend church regularly are more likely to remain wed….

Controversial Florida pastor presides at burning of Quran

GAINESVILLE, Fla. (RNS) — The controversial Florida pastor who halted plans to burn a Quran on the 9/11 anniversary last year oversaw the burning of the Islamic holy book March 20 after it was found “guilty” during a “trial” at…

DC convention elects executive director in divided vote

WASHINGTON (ABP) — Ricky Creech, once a Southern Baptist missionary and associational director of missions and more recently on the staff of a Georgia United Methodist church, was elected in a close vote March 28 to be executive director of…

BOOK REVIEW: Bonhoeffer’s questions ring true for 21st century Christians

What Would Bonhoeffer Say? By Al Staggs (Parson’s Porch Books) Al Staggs is an itinerant performance artist who has been dramatically interpreting Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Walter Rauschenbusch, Archbishop Oscar Romero, Clarence Jordan and Thomas Merton for decades. He’s a theologian who,…

U.S. colleges adding Muslim chaplains

ITHACA, N.Y. (RNS) — When Jainal Bhuiyan attended Cornell University, he and his fellow Muslim students were mentored and led in religious prayers by a collection of Muslim professors, graduate students and staff. “That was our network that filled the…

Churches need social networking policies

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (ABP) — Social networking tools using the Internet through computers and smart phones are powerful aids for communicating, but churches should have policies in place governing their use before problems arise, a computer programmer advised in a breakout…

Couple fights ‘choking game’ tragedy

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (ABP) — A dangerous thrill-seeking practice commonly called "the choking game" is claiming hundreds of teenage lives as it crosses the line from dangerous to deadly. No one knows how many children die from practicing this "game," which…

3 views on Donald Trump held by American Christians

US megachurches report strong rebound from pandemic

Baptists need to speak up again for religious liberty

What in hell became of heaven?