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...
In 1850, there were about 700,000 Baptists in the United States, evenly divided between North and South. As the nation expanded and grew, Baptists advanced in membership and social standing. As they expanded, they divided into divergent denominational groups, and…
A “prominent” marker on the campus of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary acknowledging the sins of the institution’s slaveholding founders is smaller than a nearby banner bearing the image of current seminary President Al Mohler, the Louisville Courier-Journal reports. The 20-by-30-inch…
In 2018, Kaitlin Flanagan wrote an article for The Atlantic that referred to Donald Trump as “the porn president.” Flanagan featured Anderson Cooper’s interview with former Playboy model Karen McDougal. Cooper asked his guest about the time back in 2006…
The way a group of 19th-century Baptists covered up a sexual assault committed by one of their own testifies all too clearly about the misuse of privilege and power when protecting beloved institutions, according to the authors of Remembering Antônia…
When I was a boy growing up in the heartland of America, I learned two invaluable truths from my beloved father. First, I shouldn’t fear the “reaper,” because death will come to each of us (Hebrews 9:27). And second, I…
Brian Kaylor begins his Aug. 17 Word&Way article, “The World’s Religions Converge in Chicago,” with this personal question of mine: “How did someone rooted and grounded in a Baptist version of Christianity become a religious pluralist?” In that recent speech at the Parliament of…
Please submit transitions — including staff changes, ordinations, anniversaries or deaths — to Barbara Francis. This page will be updated bi-weekly. STAFF CHANGES Scott Adamsons, to Hopewell Baptist Church, New Kent, Va., as pastor, effective Oct. 1. He comes from the pastorate…
The Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee will launch an internal investigation into how its recently removed interim president deceived the denomination for years about his educational background and military service — both of which appear to be bogus. Although Executive…
You might imagine Oxford, England, to be a wizened, ostentatious sprawl of academic architecture and higher learning. To be a place where people can retreat from the urgent demands of now and lose themselves in books and the rural countryside….
Missio Alliance and Northeastern Seminary at Roberts Wesleyan University are launching a project to empower Latino families and churches in the transmission of the Christian faith to younger generations. The Familias Unidas — or United Families — program will be…
In the year of our Lord (?) 2023, tune into any news platform right or left of center and you’ll hear that “American democracy is under threat.” Rightwing media says the 91 charges in four indictments against former President Donald…
South Africa is home to Africa’s largest drive for solar and renewable energy, allowing rural churches — which were forgotten in electrification of the last two decades — to finally light up on the cheap. “It’s the first time to…
