Baptist News Global

Mike Stone has an unlikely nominator for his SBC presidential run

A Florida pastor who had to drop out of the race for Southern Baptist Convention president last year because of accusations brought against him from the most conservative faction of the denomination now will nominate this year’s conservative standard bearer…

Southwestern trustees release 20 years of financials that show devastating decline began under Patterson

Trustees of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary have released 20 years of audited financial records — more than any Southern Baptist Convention entity has done — documenting a devastating pattern of overspending while enrollment plummeted. The spending spree began with former…

How to connect the dots while watching Shiny Happy People

Collectively watching Amazon Prime’s Shiny Happy People docuseries is foolish if we’re not willing to deconstruct the entire conservative evangelical tower of Babel it reveals. Of course, individuals watching the series may have deeply sensitive trauma they’re reminded of and…

How the new documentary series Shiny Happy People intersects with mainstream Christianity

The fame, scandal and drama surrounding the Duggar family has been a hot topic for Americans following their fundamentalist lifestyle. The family adheres to a Quiverfull theology, which teaches that large families are a blessing from the Lord, as found…

What I learned when I invited a friend to church who processes the world differently than me

I love my church. Inviting my friend to join me for Pentecost Sunday and lunch afterward was an easy, uncomplicated act. The service that day was jubilant; our people warmly inviting. There was much shaking of hands and a few…

On migrant crisis, the U.S. and UK governments share a controversial tactic in common

The United States practice of paying Mexico millions of dollars to keep asylum-seeking immigrants from crossing the southern border is not unique. The United Kingdom does something similar in partnership with Rwanda. In the U.S., the Biden administration has been…

A friendly conversation on being ‘woke’

“What is ‘woke?’” she asked. The question interested me because I knew it was not being asked as some kind of loaded “gotcha” question. She wanted to know. She honestly wanted my help. She, being a friend, older than I,…

When a Baptist Press story tells you only part of the story

The Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee put out a news release June 5 celebrating that giving to the SBC’s Cooperative Program unified budget is running 1.4% ahead of budget through the end of May. What the Baptist Press account does…

27% of Americans are still watching religious services online

While church attendance in America has declined slightly over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, how people attend religious services appears to have stabilized, according to Pew Research Center. “As the coronavirus pandemic winds down, about a quarter of Americans…

Resolving to ‘respect the diversity’ of the global Baptist family

Last week, Baptist News Global reported the removal from the Baptist World Alliance Commission on Interfaith Relations and another BWA commission of a gay man whose sexual orientation and same-sex marriage were known at the time of his appointment. Much…

‘Leaders are formed in the leading,’ Bolsinger advises pastors

Clergy become transformational leaders by experiencing the disappointment, loss and fear congregations exhibit when faced with innovative change, church coach and author Tod Bolsinger said. “Leaders aren’t formed and then get called into leadership. Leaders are formed in the leading,…

The right’s zero-tolerance policy on Pride

In case you have any remaining doubt that the Religious Right wants to obliterate all appearance of LGBTQ people — to make them invisible once again — consider the dustup over a single photograph showing a small Pride flag atop…

‘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