Baptist News Global

Bible study asks, ‘WWAD’

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (RNS) — Say a group of immigrants wants to build a mosque in Mayberry, right next to All Saints Church. WWAD: What Would Andy Do? The question, of course, never surfaced in the beloved “Andy Griffith Show” that…

Into the neighborhood

BERRYVILLE, Va. — Berryville Baptist Church participated in Operation Inasmuch recently as 101 members went into the community to help others and make friends. Pastor Dan Stanley offers a bottle of water to a motorist during Operation Inasmuch. “Sometimes actions speak…

EDITORIAL: When all is said and done, there’s a lot more said than done

Last month, the Barna Research Group called 1,000 American adults to ask them about their faith. Specifically, they asked, “Has anything related to your religious beliefs, practices, or preferences changed in the past five years?” The results, which they claim…

Candidates endorsed for BGAV office

RICHMOND, Va. — Virginia Baptists Committed, a moderate advocacy group, has endorsed the candidacies of two previously announced nominees for offices of the Baptist General Association of Virginia. VBC members voted Sept. 16 to endorse Bob Bass, a Richmond layman…

BGCT board declines proposal to alter messenger-challenge process

DALLAS (ABP) — Procedural and constitutional concerns prompted the Baptist General Convention of Texas Executive Board to reject a study committee’s proposal to change how the BGCT handles messenger-seating challenges at its annual meeting. At the 2009 BGCT meeting, Kyle…

Okla. church latest in effort to test boundaries of tax law, politics

WASHINGTON (ABP) — A church-state watchdog group has called on the Internal Revenue Service to investigate a church in Oklahoma for violating a law that prohibits tax-exempt charities from endorsing political candidates. The church is one of the latest in…

Jimmy Carter’s hospital stay extended

ATLANTA (ABP) — Former President Jimmy Carter will spend a second night in a Cleveland hospital after becoming ill Sept. 28 on a book-signing tour. A statement from Cleveland's MetroHealth Medical Center said early Sept. 29 that Carter was "feeling…

European Baptist leaders OK plan to move Prague seminary

ROME (ABP) — The elegant complex of 19th-century buildings that houses the International Baptist Theological Seminary in Prague, Czech Republic, will likely be sold now that European Baptist Federation leaders have green-lighted a plan to move the seminary as a…

Baptist historians affirm individual conscience

ATLANTA (ABP) — A group of Baptist historians that meets annually to read and discuss early Baptist writings endorsed a statement Sept. 27 affirming the role of individual conscience in Baptist life. Fourteen members of the "Baptist Classics Seminar" group…

Jimmy Carter reported ‘resting comfortably’ in Cleveland hospital

CLEVELAND (ABP) — Former President Jimmy Carter was hospitalized Sept. 28 after falling ill on a flight to Cleveland for a book signing. President Jimmy Carter with his Nobel Peace Prize. Deanna Congileo of the Carter Center in Atlanta said…

Rural Churches: Pastors say rural churches measure growth differently

(ABP) — Brand New Church in Arkansas and Fairy Baptist Church in Texas bear little resemblance to each other. Pastor Shannon O’Dell leads a multi-campus, contemporary-style church in rural Arkansas that draws about 2,000 worshipers in-person from throughout the region…

Rural Churches: Some see their calling as providing a minister-training lab

WACO, Texas (ABP) — Rural churches, particularly those within driving distance of a seminary or denominational college or university, often become training grounds for ministerial staff. “Some churches see that as their ministry,” noted Judy Battles, coordinator for pastoral ministries…

Trump’s war on ‘woke’ targets federal grants and foreign relations

Reflections on In the Twilight of the Christian West

Why rural families need support now

Why do we keep sounding the alarm?