Baptist News Global

UMC gives first approval to restructuring plan

The United Methodist Church is one step closer to restructuring its worldwide body to give greater latitude to each region to shape its faith and traditions. Delegates to the thrice-delayed General Conference voted 586 to 164 for an amendment to…

Reminder: This week’s BNG webinar features Christa Brown, sexual abuse reform advocate

Christa Brown will be the guest on BNG’s next “change-making conversations” webinar on Wednesday, May 1, at 11 a.m. Central time. She will dialogue with BNG Executive Director Mark Wingfield. Brown is a frequent BNG columnist and author of the…

A new vision of Mary Magdalene and Jesus by Kelly Latimore

I awoke Easter Sunday morning to the following quote on X from Jacqui Lewis: “The first resurrection was proclaimed by women, and the church repaid them with centuries of lies that God didn’t want us to preach. For Jesus’ movement…

Amid concerns about video game-inspired violence, a ‘Christian’ game slays ungodly enemies

Twenty-five years ago, I sat in my living room as a junior in high school watching the Columbine shooting unfold. Seeing students my age filing out of the school, I had no idea how that moment would impact me or…

Coalition proposes bipartisan blueprint for immigration reform

A coalition of business, religious and activist groups has released a comprehensive blueprint for immigration reform it hopes will spur Congress to improve border security while preserving the safety and dignity of migrants. The group of center-right organizations unveiled a…

Politics, faith and mission: A conversation with David Dark

David Dark is one of my favorite writers and thinkers, and for years now, I often finish reading him and think, “I wish I’d written that!” A professor of religion and the arts at Belmont University and an authority on…

Make room: A reflection on a trip to the U.S./Mexico Border

The tiny feet of a growing baby kicked my hand as we prayed with a young mother just south of the Texas border in Reynosa, Mexico. Surrounded by blankets on a concrete floor and the sounds of a refugee village encircling…

We’re on a mission from God? Why America needs the church, not Christian nationalism

In the 1980 film The Blues Brothers, Elwood and Jake set out to save the Catholic orphanage where they were raised. As the brothers try to get their band back together to pay the orphanage’s $5,000 in back taxes, Elwood and…

Oklahoma plans to execute a man who didn’t commit a murder

Death penalty opponents are bracing for the anticipated execution of an Oklahoma man who even the state acknowledges did not kill anyone. Tremane Wood has been on Oklahoma’s Death Row since 2004 for participating in a robbery-turned-homicide in which the…

Putting the wicked to rest: Creating teal steeples beyond Sexual Violence Awareness Month

I turned on the TV / And flipped it over to the news / And what I saw I almost couldn’t comprehend. I saw a preacher man in cuffs / He’d taken money from the church / He’d stuffed his…

Transitions for the week of 4-26-24

Please submit transitions — including staff changes, ordinations, anniversaries or deaths — to Barbara Francis. This page will be updated bi-weekly. STAFF CHANGES Valerie Burton, to Weatherly Heights Baptist Church, Huntsville, Ala., as senior pastor. She comes from Baptist Church of…

Most independent voters don’t believe presidential election will change their lives

In an election year where everyone already seems to have a firm opinion, independent voters stand out as different, according to a new national survey from Navigator. When asked how much thought they’ve given to who they’ll vote for in…

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