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...
Realism, “the attitude or practice of accepting a situation as it is and being prepared to deal with it accordingly,” compels us to acknowledge we live in a ceaslessly violent time, evidenced by weekly, if not daily, volatile events. The…
Kansas is the latest state to award a government contract to an anti-abortion nonprofit group that encourages women who face unplanned pregnancies to give birth and provides them with resources to make motherhood work. “Alternatives to Abortion” legislation enacted in…
The growth of Christianity in China has remained flat for more than a decade, according to polls conducted in the Communist nation and analyzed by Pew Research Center. “Christianity flourished after China entered an era of economic reforms and ‘opening…
The Jesus Room lies in the bowels of Richmond’s cavernous First Baptist Church, one of those stately old churches that takes up most of a city block. It’s a part of the basement floor of the church, comprising a community…
Scott, a 63-year-old former chef and factory worker, was trudging toward the tent encampment where he lived on the outskirts of Richmond, Va., when he found fellow camper Ed sprawled on the path, unconscious. “It scared the hootenannies out of…
Everywhere I go, I meet a surging community of post-evangelicals. I would like to offer readers a few snapshots from half a year of travel. Little Rock, March 30: I speak to the annual NASW social workers conference in downtown….
Please submit transitions — including staff changes, ordinations, anniversaries or deaths — to Barbara Francis. This page will be updated bi-weekly. STAFF CHANGES Jennifer Ager, to Purcellville (Va.) Baptist Church, as children’s director. Carrie Andrus, to South Main Baptist Church, Pasadena,…
The Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee eliminated 20% of its staff Sept. 13 but has not indicated what positions or people were affected. An announcement was made through Baptist Press, the in-house news service that is run by Executive Committee…
There’s no need to debate complementarianism or egalitarianism when it comes to marriage, says Nancy Pearcey, as she promotes her new book The Toxic War on Masculinity. Conservative, churchgoing men do best, she claims — and complementarians do as well…
My girlfriend and I went to see the Barbie movie a couple of weeks ago. We expected the movie just to be laughs and giggles because we thought it was a kids’ movie with a lighthearted story. However, that was…
If you’ve been paying attention to the news over the last six years, you’ve probably noticed the phrase “Christian nationalism” being tossed around with increasing frequency. This is due to the fact that there has been a surge in the…
A vice is a vice until it’s not. How did gambling, once called by Walter Rauschenbusch “the vice of the savage,” become a glittering virtue of the American dream? Gambling, particularly for Baptists, has long been condemned. From Billy Sunday…
