Baptist News Global

Unique international tour inspires students to pursue U.N. goals

ATLANTA (ABP) — Thirteen students, six countries, eight goals and one underlying motivation — to see the gospel in action. This summer, 13 undergraduate and graduate students took a 50-day journey to experience how Cooperative Baptist Fellowship efforts intersect with…

Former BWA president David Wong dies at 97

FALLS CHURCH, Va. (ABP) — David Wong, former president of the Baptist World Alliance, died Sept. 16 in Alhambra, Calif. He was 97. Born in Wuzhou, China, Wong moved to Hong Kong in 1949. He was the first layman and…

IMB retooling to focus agency on local-church mission work

ATLANTA (ABP) — The Southern Baptist Convention’s International Mission Board will reorganize over the next year to focus more on local churches’ involvement in missions and provide flexibility to reach people groups across geographical lines. At their Sept. 8-10 meeting…

The gender debate is ultimately about Jesus

By David Gushee Last Monday (Sept. 15), I published an article in USA Today that has bounced around the blogosphere evoking intense reaction ever since. The argument of the article was that Sarah Palin’s nomination for vice president, and the…

Survey: Megachurches more intimate, believers less gullible than stereotypes

WASHINGTON (ABP) — A new survey by Baylor University researchers suggests that megachurches are more intimate, believers less gullible and atheism less prevalent than popular stereotypes would suggest. Results of the 2008 Baylor Religion Survey were released in a Sept….

‘Red-letter’ Christians can transcend partisan politics, Campolo insists

WACO, Texas (ABP) — “Red-letter” Christians committed to taking Christ’s teachings seriously have the potential to transform society in a way that moves beyond partisan politics, author and educator Tony Campolo told a recent ethics conference at Baylor University’s George…

Torture: Our first major 21st-century scandal

By David Gushee The week of Sept. 11, 2008, I had the privilege of hosting a national summit on torture at Mercer University in Atlanta. (To learn more about the program called “Religious Faith, Torture, and Our National Soul,” and…

Virginia Baptists disaster relief units ministering to hurricane victims

RICHMOND — Virginia Baptist disaster relief units are on the field in Texas following Hurricane Ike, reported Terry Raines, coordinator for mobile missions and disaster relief for the Virginia Baptist Mission Board. BP photo by John R. Kennedy Communities like…

Missions in a dangerous world

Imagine being invited to go on a short-term mission trip to a country closed to mission personnel and bordering a closed nation torn by civil war. The trip would facilitate ministry to refugees. Participants cannot disclose the underlying reason to…

International worker advises: Avoid deception, but don’t show your hand

Deception never is an appropriate stance for mission workers, a former employee of both the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and the International Mission Board insisted. But that's not the same as telling everything one knows or does, said Kent Parks, now…

Should missionaries always tell the whole truth?

Christian workers who serve in countries closed to traditional missions outreach should tell the truth — but that doesn't necessarily mean full disclosure, some Christian ethicists and missiologists insist. “It is not correct to lie about the reason for being…

Woman’s Missionary Union of Virginia elects Laura McDaniel new executive

LYNCHBURG — Despite weather forecasts predicting that Hurricane Hanna would reach Lynchburg simultaneously with the scheduled election of Laura McDaniel as the eighth executive leader of Virginia's Woman's Missionary Union, by midday the sun was shining brightly. The election and…

Lindsey Graham spoke at Baptist church a week before his death

When leaders know better but choose a different path

On the death of Lindsey Graham

Farewell, Three Amigos