Baptist News Global

Texas Baptists expel two more churches for welcoming LGBTQ Christians

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…

New assistance programs cause poverty rate among immigrants to fall in U.S.

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…

Finding hope in the church despite these two documentaries

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…

Transitions for the week of 6-9-23

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,…

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…

Supreme Court slides into partisanship

Before the fireworks, be careful what you drink

The contemptible case of Clarence Thomas

The permanent paradoxes of Christian thinking about war