Baptist News Global

On Nex Benedict, invisible students, Easter Sunday and Trans Day of Visibility

Nex Benedict, a 16-year-old nonbinary student from Owasso, Okla., died Feb. 7. The cause of death remains undetermined. While tragic that a teen died, many fail to see the significance of what occurred. The focus of numerous reports centers on…

For decades, BJC struggled to live up to its ‘joint’ representation of Blacks and whites

Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty in Washington, D.C., is and has been an institution long championed by moderate and progressive Baptists for its defense of religious liberty for all people. Since 1936, Baptists from across geographic and racial lines…

If faith were a movie

Next Sunday evening, along with millions of others around the globe, I will watch the Academy Awards. I’ve not missed one in 40 years. Since three of my major interests are theology, writing and movies, I decided to do a…

All 25 largest school districts in Texas reject school chaplains option

The biggest school districts in Texas have voted against allowing unlicensed Christian chaplains to replace professional school counselors and to evangelize students at will, leaders of a six-month, faith-based campaign against the policy announced Feb. 29. Groups including Baptist Joint…

It’s a four-way race for the SBC presidency this year

Three months out from the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting, there’s a four-way race for the denomination’s presidency. Current SBC President Bart Barber is serving his second consecutive term and is ineligible for another term. So far, four pastors have…

Conservatives’ agenda for America is starting to read like my Bob Jones University student handbook

Perusing the news is beginning to feel like reading my Bob Jones University handbook a quarter century ago. Every page unveils another clutching of control that mortifies and confounds until the reader doesn’t know whether to laugh, cry or rage….

Walking a mile in worn-down shoes: A look at wealth disparity

Greed is defined as “a selfish and excessive desire for more of something than is needed.” While it’s true the wealthiest among us have no significant impact on your financial status, as someone once said, “Poverty exists not because we…

A deeper look at Alabama judge Tom Parker and his desire for the righteous to rule America

On Friday, Feb. 16, the Alabama Supreme Court released its 8-1 decision declaring embryos are people and those who harm them may be liable for their death, forcing clinics providing in vitro fertilization to shut down and parents receiving such…

What not to do if there are queer folks in your church (and there are)

There are queer folks in my church. I worship with them every Sunday. There are queer folks in your church too, whether you know it or not. That’s just how statistics work. More often than not, however, these beloved siblings…

The threat of Christian nationalism in all 50 states, illustrated in eight charts

I’m pleased to share with you insights from the largest survey of Christian nationalism ever conducted, which was released today by PRRI. The survey was fielded among a sample of more than 22,000 Americans throughout 2023. This large sample size…

Ed Young calls immigrants ‘undesirables,’ ‘garbage’ and ‘raff’

A former president of the Southern Baptist Convention and a leader in the denomination’s “conservative resurgence” told his Houston megachurch Feb. 25 migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border are “undesirables, “garbage” and “raff.” Roaming back and forth on a stage adorned…

Alabama politicians flee IVF backlash

Alabama politicians are facing scrutiny after the state Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos used for in-vitro fertilization qualify as human beings under the law. On Feb. 16, the Alabama Supreme Court released its 8-1 decision on Burdick-Aysenne v. Center…

Theologizing with Larkin Poe, 10 years after Reskinned

Ministry leader with tall tales wins GOP bid for Colorado governor

What Willy Rice once knew

What I learned July 5 at church