Baptist News Global

Southern Seminary closing School of Church Music

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (ABP) — Southern Baptist Theological Seminary is closing its 65-year-old School of Church Music and Worship, combining it with the School of Leadership and Church Ministry into a new School of Church Ministries. The seminary's board of trustees…

Torture, human dignity, and Christian failure

By David Gushee The recent release of four key memos from President Bush’s Justice Department does not exhaust the revelations that are still to come related to the brutal interrogation policies of our government in the years following the 9/11…

ANALYSIS: Asking the right question in stewardship

One can almost hear the turmoil in the voice of Shakespeare’s Hamlet when he sets his anguished jaw and proclaims “to be or not to be, that is the question.” Faced with the reality that his wicked uncle has murdered…

VIRGINIA BRIEFS

Financial seminars planned. Crown Financial Ministries, in conjunction with the Virginia Baptist Mission Board, will conduct a series of seminars in July on ways to assist families struggling with debt. The seminars are open to pastors and other church leaders….

OUT LOUD

“Religious conviction is the only relevant characteristic that statistically differentiates these highly committed donors from other respondents.” Cygnus Applied Research A survey by the Chicago-based research firm indicates 43 percent of actively religious respondents remain commited to giving in a…

Brother, can you spare a dime?

As the nation’s economic crisis seeps further into congregations, budget cuts are the order of the day. But are churches reacting more to fear than facts? The financial pain for churches is real. But evidence is mixed about how…

Budget cutting at church: Prudent planning or excessive anxiety?

Church budget-cutting: Prudent planning or excessive anxiety?

(ABP) — As the nation’s economic crisis seeps further into congregations, budget cuts are the order of the day. But are churches reacting more to fear than facts? The financial pain for churches is real. But evidence is mixed about…

Church offers ‘Soul Food’ in town hit hard by recession

DALTON, Ga. (ABP) — Many lives are unraveling in Dalton, Ga., nicknamed the “Carpet Capital of the World,” in the current recession, creating both challenges and opportunities for churches. The North Georgia city of 33,000 makes nearly 75 percent of…

Baptist groups feel recession’s pinch

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (ABP) — Many things divide the Baptist denomination, but one thing all groups share is the challenge of raising money during a recession. Six months into the fiscal year, receipts to the Southern Baptist Convention’s Cooperative Program were…

Historic African-American church focus of sex-abuse scandal

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (ABP) — A Baptist church that gained national prominence as the scene of a racially motivated bombing that killed four African-American girls in 1963 is now reeling from the weekend arrest of its music minister on charges of…

Alliance urges end to Cuba travel ban

Ana Karim, a Cuban-American Alliance member, urges the group to contact lawmakers. CHARLOTTE, N.C. (ABP) — The Alliance of Baptists applauded President Obama for loosening restrictions on American's travel to Cuba and called for more reform during the progressive group's…

Matthew Vines sets off a debate over what it means to be ‘queer’

Dear Mike Johnson, be careful what you ask for

What, to the white Christian, is America 250?

Four years later, anti-abortionists battle on other fronts