Baptist News Global

United Methodist pastors, churches building relationships faster with ‘onboarding’

Each year, 30% to 40% of United Methodist churches receive new pastors through the process known as “appointment.” Unlike other Protestant churches that “call” their own pastors, United Methodist clergy are “appointed” by a bishop to a church in an…

Apalachee High School: The questions that haunt me at night

I am writing this post very early in the morning of Friday, Sept. 6. It is less than 48 hours after 14-year-old Colt Gray decided to start his freshman year at Apalachee High School, 40 minutes north of me, by…

Of gay penguins, the Grand Canyon, the Ark and the Scopes trial

As the 100-year anniversary of the 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial approaches, the scientific community has had an entire century to explore our world and then sharpen and share their discoveries through peer review. But young earth creationists are still stuck…

Mohler defends the honor of Winston Churchill, who was smeared on Tucker Carlson’s podcast

Al Mohler and Tucker Carlson may be bosom buddies in promoting Donald Trump as God’s great hope for America, but Mohler wants you to know he will gladly defend the honor of Winston Churchill that was smeared on Carlson’s podcast…

A sabbatical gift of grace and rest and exploration

I have been in full time ministry for 24 years. Wow. That doesn’t seem possible. Actually, that is almost half my life. Mostly, I am grateful for every second — even the most challenging moments have taught me more about…

Bread of the World — really, the WORLD!

Most liturgical churches have been living into the bread imagery of the Gospel of John for the past several weeks. One of the worship planning resources I use has nicknamed this portion of the Lectionary “high-carb season,” which I thought…

A picture is worth a thousand words, but so is a video

I was stunned while watching the news on a recent night. Network footage showed Kamala Harris and Tim Walz arriving in Savanah, Ga., to begin their two-day bus tour across South Georgia. Waiting at the bus were almost two dozen…

Baptist churches join NRB lawsuit seeking freedom to endorse political candidates

Two Texas churches affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention have joined the National Religious Broadcasters and Intercessors for America in a lawsuit that seeks to do away with any federal limits on politicking by tax-exempt religious nonprofits. Sand Springs Church…

Publishers sue to stop Florida’s rapid book bans

Six major U.S. publishers, the Authors Guild and several authors and parents have filed a federal lawsuit to stop a new Florida law allowing public school libraries to ban books whenever a parent raises objections about sexual content. The suit,…

Oil company foundation funds climate-skeptic Christian groups

The Shell USA Co. Foundation donated half a million dollars over a decade to conservative Christian groups that deny a human role in climate change, oppose environmental regulations and favor the abolition of the Environmental Protection Agency. According to a…

Bonhoeffer’s true vision with the growing threats to immigrant populations

Eric Metaxas is not a historian, and many theologians and historians have described his work on Dietrich Bonhoeffer as more than problematic. Metaxas ironically has tried to turn Bonhoeffer into some type of right-wing hero, even though he stood up…

Who’s woke at Bubba-Doo’s?

You don’t always have to know someone in order to learn a great deal from them. Sometimes, just using our eyes and ears will tell us a lot. We had just pulled up to Bubba-Doo’s. It was a Saturday morning,…

Republicans push through more unregulated funding for ICE and CBP

Trump admin defying court order on immigration access

What was there left to argue?

Beauty, ashes and the Southern Baptist Convention