Baptist News Global

Baptists lift voices in Vatican

By Barry Howard The group gathering in St. Peter’s Square dressed in formal attire on this hot Thursday afternoon in July was attracting a lot of attention from locals and from tourists. The men in the group were decked out…

Physical and spiritual exercise meet in NIA, divinity student says

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) — Claire McKeever, a Baylor University graduate studying for the ministry at Vanderbilt Divinity School, preaches that worship isn’t just for the soul. McKeever teaches NIA, Neuromuscular Integrative Action, at the Green Hills YMCA in Nashville, Tenn….

Faith & Fitness: Exercise good, but only in moderation

NEW YORK (ABP) — The sixth chapter of First Corinthians describes the body as “a temple of the Holy Spirit.” For many Christians that means what they do with their body matters to God, including physical fitness. A few, however,…

Poverty-medicine clinic preaches the gospel of fitness

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (ABP) — Fitness can, literally, be a life-and-death issue for people in underprivileged communities. So a Christian medical ministry in one of the nation’s poorest big cities is preaching the gospel of fitness through local churches. Minister and…

South Africa to host continent’s first Baptist World Congress in 2015

HONOLULU (ABP) — For the first time, the Baptist World Congress will be held in Africa in 2015, according to a July 27 announcement from Baptist World Alliance General Secretary Neville Callam. Speaking on the eve of the 20th Baptist…

Catholics in Nagaland claiming persecution at hands of Baptists

ANATANGRE, India (ABP) — Baptists in the Indian state of Nagaland are defending themselves against charges of anti-Catholic bigotry after villagers tore down a Catholic church because the town allows only churches of the Baptist denomination. The controversy has generated…

Religion and foreign policy

By Suzii Paynter “Once considered a private matter by Western policymakers, religion is now playing an increasingly influential role — both positive and negative — in the public sphere.” This is the opening sentence of a major foreign policy report,…

Christians demand apology for anti-women teaching

ORLANDO, Fla. (ABP) — A group of women and men calling themselves the Freedom for Christian Women Coalition has demanded an apology for religious teaching they say is harmful to women. Shirley Taylor, founder of Baptist Women for Equality, presented the…

Jimmy Carter credits Jimmy Allen for election

Jimmy Allen responds at an event introducing a new book about his life and career. JASPER, Ga. (ABP) — Jimmy Carter said July 23 he doubts he would have been elected 39th president of the United States without the aid…

Nothing worth proving can be proven

By Jim Denison “Donkeys kill more people annually than plane crashes. No piece of paper can be folded in half more than seven times. Walt Disney, the inventor of Mickey Mouse, was afraid of mice. A duck’s quack doesn’t echo…

Bluefield College names football coach

BLUEFIELD, Va. — Bluefield College president David Olive announced in a press conference July 23 that Mike Gravier has been named to resurrect Bluefield’s football program after a 69-year absence. Gravier, a Michigan native, coached on the high school level…

Progressive North Carolina church welcomes far-right protest group

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (ABP) — A prominent North Carolina congregation long known for its progressive stances welcomed a group of anti-gay, anti-abortion, anti-Islam protesters to its worship service July 18 — even as a nearby conservative church shunned the group. An…

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?