Social media was abuzz this week with reaction to Southern Baptist Convention leader Al Mohler appearing on a podcast with Christian nationalist Doug Wilson. The mere fact of them being in conversation is the most notable thing, because what they...
As the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention approaches next week in New Orleans, one line from the Gospel of Matthew keeps rising in our minds: “Who is there among you, who, if his son asks for bread, will…
Living in the U.S. since 2021 without a pathway to permanent residency has kept Afghan war refugees constantly fearful of possible repatriation to a nation run by the brutal Taliban regime, experts said during a National Immigration Forum webinar. The…
These days, Rick Warren has become a thorn in the side of Southern Baptist leaders who once admired and celebrated him. From his perspective, he’s simply leading a one-man crusade to return to basic Baptist principles. From the perspective of…
While Lewis Brogdon doesn’t describe the Bible as fragile, he wants to help people interpret its content with care. That is one of the reasons Brogdon, associate professor preaching and Black church studies at Baptist Seminary of Kentucky, wrote a…
Activists are stepping up pressure on the U.S. to grant asylum and other protections to Black Mauritanians facing imprisonment, torture, execution and slavery in the northwest African nation. Mauritanian diaspora leaders and other advocates participated in a June 6 webinar…
“There were two things I had a right to, liberty or death; if I could not have one, I would have the other.” Harriet Tubman (c. 1822-1913) Born into slavery in Maryland around 1822, Harriet Tubman dreamed of freedom….
C. Welton Gaddy, once a rising star among Southern Baptists who left to champion progressive causes and dedicated much of his life to religious liberty for all people, died at his home in Monroe, La., June 7. He was 81….
I grew up in a small town of about 25,000 people. Our high school mascot was a lion, so it was natural for us to speak in terms of having “pride.” The big block letters in the band hall read…
Two more churches have been expelled from the Baptist General Convention of Texas “due to their public affirmation of same-sex sexuality,” the convention announced June 8. This announcement of the results of a closed meeting of the BGCT Executive Board…
Poverty fell steeply among immigrants in the U.S. after the Great Recession and even further during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new report by the Migration Policy Institute. The study analyzed U.S. Census Bureau data to measure the way…
I watched the documentary Shiny Happy People over the weekend. This documentary focuses on the cult following of Bill Gothard and, subsequently, the Duggar family. The Gothard teachings very much oppressed women and were based on power and control, so…
Please submit transitions — including staff changes, ordinations, anniversaries or deaths — to Barbara Francis. This page will be updated bi-weekly. STAFF CHANGES Lisa Adams, to Bonsack Baptist Church, Roanoke, Va., as director of Christian education, effective in August. Charlie Barganier,…
