Across America this week, Baptist women are carrying a familiar weight. Some are pastors who have faithfully answered the call of God, only to watch the Southern Baptist Convention debate whether God possibly could have called them. Some are seminary...
Somehow, there’s a mythology that popular or influential programs have occasionally been canceled by mistake or in some colossal error of judgment. I mean, as a pastor it would seem that’s evidently what some church people think. This has got…
After moving from Seattle to Dallas in 2015 to teach at Southern Methodist University, I decided to do something, well, important with some leftover funds. With a history of searing headaches, I wanted to introduce ancient authors who wrote in unvarnished ways…
Members of Congress have joined nationwide efforts to encourage President Joe Biden to clear the way for some undocumented immigrants to safely live and work in the United States. Democratic U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin of Illinois and Alex Padilla of…
There’s a new war on pornography in America, and it’s just as complicated as ever. As BNG reported a week ago, James Dobson’s Family Policy Alliance has made defeating Satan and porn one of its priorities this year. What’s old…
In a recent Atlantic essay titled “The True Cost of the Churchgoing Bust,” columnist Derek Thompson writes that “more Americans today have ‘converted’ out of religion than have converted to all forms of Christianity, Judaism and Islam combined. No faith’s…
As delegates pack their bags to attend The United Methodist Church’s first comprehensive General Conference in eight years, church bureaucrats and special interest groups are unpacking their respective legislative campaigns via press releases, op-eds, email, social media, videos and online…
With Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter well into its second week at the top of the Billboard charts, the internet is rife with as many hot takes and opinions as 4×4 pickups at a Jason Aldean show. Absorbing the litany of influences,…
When architects Hadley and Peter Arnold rescued a condemned church in Warren, R.I., they knew the 19th century building was something special. But just how special wasn’t clear until it was time to remodel the church’s windows. Behind one of…
Thirty-two years ago, when Derek Webb emerged on the national scene with the contemporary Christian music group Caedmon’s Call, he could not have imagined how much his life would veer into uncharted territory. That’s not because of fame but because…
There is a growing trend among Southern Baptist churches to adopt an elder-based model over the traditional congregational model. In Baptist churches, the concept of elder-led polity refers to a specific form of church governance where elders play a central role in decision-making and…
The majority of Americans leaving the church do so for rather humdrum reasons, sociologist of religion Ryan Burge said during a recent episode of the “CBF Podcast.” This phenomenon is known as “casual dechurching” and is typically overlooked because it’s…
Six months after Hamas attacked Israel, the GOP-led U.S. House of Representatives has so far failed to agree on a bill addressing aid for Israel. Ukraine aid also is blocked. But on Tuesday, the House sent articles of impeachment against…
