Baptist News Global

Task force recommendations could harm cooperation, Chapman insists

ORLANDO, Fla. — Adopting the report of the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force could have negative repercussions, Morris Chapman warned Southern Baptist Convention messengers during their annual meeting June 15. In his final report as president and chief executive officer…

SBC approves task force recommendations, elects Wright as president

ORLANDO, Fla. — The much debated recommendations of the Great Commission Resurgence task force won easy approval June 15 from messengers attending the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention, but only after the report was amended twice to strengthen…

Messengers embrace report, focus on Great Commission

ORLANDO, Fla. — The Southern Baptist Convention embraced a future uncertain but focused on the Great Commission when a solid majority of messengers adopted the report of the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force June 15. “We are a Great Commission…

Approval signals Southern Baptist concern for ‘lostness,’ task force says

ORLANDO, Fla. — The Southern Baptist Convention overwhelmingly reaffirmed its intention to spread the gospel throughout the nation and around the world, members of the SBC’s Great Commission Resurgence task force told reporters. At least 75 percent to 80 percent…

Georgia church planter elected SBC president

ORLANDO, Fla. — In a surprise move, Southern Baptists said no to two well-known presidential candidates and elected a church planter from Marietta, Ga., to lead them in the coming year. Bryant Wright, senior pastor of Johnson Ferry Baptist Church…

Executive Committee elects president/CEO

ORLANDO, Fla. (ABP) – The Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention voted in executive session June 14 to elect former SBC President Frank Page as the organization’s next president and CEO, replacing Morris Chapman, who retires Sept. 30 after…

Executive Committee elects Frank Page president in closed session

ORLANDO, Fla. (ABP) – The Executive Committee of the Southern Baptist Convention voted in a closed session June 14 to elect former SBC president Frank Page as the organization’s next president and CEO, replacing Morris Chapman, who retires Sept. 30…

Religious liberty in China improving, still room for progress, leaders say

DALLAS (ABP) — Religious liberty in China is expanding and the Chinese Christian community is growing, according to a leader of China's state-sanctioned church — but American observers continue to hope for more progress. Bao Jiayuan, associate general secretary of…

Louisiana Senate panel shelves guns-in-church bill

BATON ROUGE, La. (ABP) — A Louisiana Senate committee has shelved a controversial bill that would have allowed worshipers to carry concealed weapons inside churches, synagogues and other houses of worship. The state’s Senate Judiciary B Committee voted 3-0 June…

Former Rwandan Baptist pastor convicted of genocide

HELSINKI, Finland (ABP) – A Finnish court has sentenced a former Baptist pastor to life in prison for participating in Rwanda’s 1994 genocide, according to the British Broadcasting Corporation. Francois Bazaramba, 59, was a pastor of the Baptist church in…

Missionaries from global South to North face hurdles, speaker says

EDINBURGH, Scotland (ABP) — While Christianity's center of gravity has shifted southward in the past century from Europe and North America, missionaries from the global South are still not welcome as full partners in global evangelism, an African missionary to…

Faith, politics and Mom

By Jim Denison “Never discuss religion or politics in public,” my mother used to warn me. Today’s column probably proves the wisdom of her advice. Last week, USA Today reported that four Christian lawyers who vowed to be God’s ambassadors…

Paxton dodges ethics questions while claiming Talarico isn’t Christian

Restored Voices Collective gets GRACE report on former board member

‘CatsOnACouch’ influencer sues over First Amendment rights

Court finds Trump and Blanche conspired to create sham IRS lawsuit