Baptist News Global

What’s happening with church budgets and personnel expenses in a post-pandemic world?

When rethinking church budgets in a post-pandemic world, one old-fashioned rule still applies: Every situation is unique. While some church leaders may be tempted to seek ready-made formulas to guide their new-world budgeting, that’s never been a great idea, according…

At Juneteenth vigil, Alliance of Baptists called to move from celebration to action

Juneteenth observances must go beyond celebrating the emancipation of enslaved people to calling out modern forms of white supremacy that continue to oppress people of color, speakers said during a June 19 online vigil hosted by the Alliance of Baptists….

Passage of anti-homosexuality bill in Uganda rattles LGBTQ community in Kenya

As the LGBTQ community in Africa reacted to the strident new anti-homosexuality bill adopted in Uganda, attention quickly shifted to Kenya, where a similar bill with different nomenclature recently was tabled for consideration in Parliament. On April 7, George Peter…

If you bet on how many churches the SBC will kick out, take the ‘under’

Southern Baptists will not excommunicate as many churches with women pastors as you might think. They won’t even get the chance. In fact, if Las Vegas oddsmakers set an over/under bet on how many churches the Southern Baptist Convention will…

The SBC and its sacrament of power

The Southern Baptist Convention continues on its crusade to rid Baptist churches of women in ordained leadership of any kind. I have looked with dismay at its inexorable path of patriarchal power and the denigration of women. So churches with…

New methods and legislation increase options — and questions — with our last remains

You may not be able to choose when or how you die, but you have many choices when it comes to taking care of your bodily remains, as new technologies and laws multiply the options and the ethical questions involved….

The SBC 2023: When dogma trumps gospel

In 1964, Addie Davis was ordained to the gospel ministry by Watts Street Baptist Church, Durham, N.C., becoming the first female ordained by a congregation affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. A new generation of female ordinands soon followed, not…

Ministry jobs and more

Baptist News Global provides a free listing of ministry-related jobs for Baptist churches, theological institutions and organizations across the United States. Each free posting is for 30 days and is limited to 150 words. Postings may be extended another 30…

The Southern Baptists left me

Last week in its annual meeting held in New Orleans, messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention voted to uphold the denomination’s Credentials and Executive Committees in expelling Saddleback Church in California and Fern Creek Baptist Church in Louisville Ky. The…

The best way to protest the SBC is to carry on and preach louder

Last week, the Southern Baptist Convention’s overwhelming number of messengers voted to kick out Saddleback Church and Fern Creek Baptist due to their inclusion of female leadership. I support the credentialing of female pastors as not only legitimate in our time, but also…

‘May they all be one’

“I ask not only on behalf of these but also on behalf of those who believe in me through their word, that they may all be one.” — John 17:20-21 John 17 often is labeled as Jesus’ “high-priestly prayer.” This…

Baptists, football and women who changed the game

Baptists love football. How many college and pro football illustrations did I hear in sermons preached in my childhood Southern Baptist church? How many Baptists are just as likely to don college colors and spend Saturdays watching the game as…

‘Be careful of Scripture heavy in law but light on grace,’ Wesley warns

‘Show up and do something,’ ACLU leader urges

From the South Side to the South Lawn and back again

Democracy as a moral practice, not just a system