A few weeks ago, I sat with a Baptist leader who described himself as a “moderate Baptist.” He meant it as a compliment, and most people in our circles would receive it that way. After all, “moderate” is one of...
Tell somebody you’re going to Theology Beer Camp and you will be met with either a delighted giggle or a wrinkled brow. In the churches of my youth, the words “theology” and “beer” never occupied the same sentence — “for…
Highland Baptist Church in Louisville transformed its stained-glass Jesus from white to brown to accurately reflect his ethnicity, to continue the congregation’s ongoing reparations work and to push back against Christian nationalism. “We wanted to correct the misrepresentation of Christ…
When I got in the taxi in Gaza, I asked the driver (in Arabic) to take me to the Ahli Arab (Arab Family) Hospital. “Where?” he asked. After we had that exchange a couple of times, I just said, “Go…
An FBI warning about new financial scams prompted Guidestone Financial Resources to alert its clients about scammers infiltrating personal financial accounts by impersonating representatives from technology firms, banks or government agencies. “This Phantom Hacker scam is an evolution of more…
You may have read the remarkable story about the life of Charles Feeney, who recently died at 92 after having given away almost all of his $8 billion to the causes he believed in. At some point in his life,…
A private university once affiliated with Baptists in Arizona has been fined the largest sum ever levied against a school by the U.S. Department of Education. The DOE and its office of Federal Student Aid said the $37.7 million fine against Grand…
“I don’t believe there are any coincidences in a manner like this. I believe that Scripture, the Bible, is very clear that God is the one that raises up those in authority. He raised up each of you, all of…
Kanakuk Kamps is suing ACE American Insurance Co. for “breach of contract and fiduciary duty” and “bad faith refusal” to defend the company in the lawsuit brought against Kanakuk by Logan Yandell last November. Kanakuk alleges ACE withheld pertinent information…
Who is a Christian nationalist? And should some people be proud to be called such a name? I, like a majority of BNG readers, am convinced Christian nationalists are a threat to democracy. I have been listening to them make…
Please submit transitions — including staff changes, ordinations, anniversaries or deaths — to Barbara Francis. This page will be updated bi-weekly. STAFF CHANGES Bradley Beals, to Warrenton (Va.) Baptist Church, as senior pastor. He has been serving as transitional pastor there….
Adam Kinzinger learned all about religious fundamentalism growing up at Calvary Baptist Church in Normal, Ill., and other independent fundamental Baptist congregations that practiced separation from the world, prohibited worldly pleasures and provided plentiful rules that freed true believers “from…
Last week, I shared my story about serving as a megachurch pastor. This week, I’d like to tell you about my experience leading a small-membership rural church. The two pastorates could not be more different. Most of my 40-year ministerial…
