Baptist News Global

Brumley named chair of BNG board; Peoples new board member

A veteran Baptist communications executive has been named chair of the Baptist News Global board of directors. Larry Brumley, senior vice president for marketing communications and chief of staff at Mercer University, succeeds Chris Caldwell, professor at Simmons College of…

Struggling to believe

I’m struggling to believe. Not in God. Not in Jesus. But in the church. I’m wondering if we’ve gotten it all wrong, the songs and sermons, altar calls and Bible studies, missionaries and seminaries. You see, I’m finding little evidence…

High court hears arguments in case that could redefine employers’ required religious accommodation

It appears the United States Supreme Court could look for common ground in ruling on a major religious liberty case heard by the high court last week, according to two Baptist authorities on the subject. Amanda Tyler, executive director of…

‘Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife’ and other posters I do not want in a first grade classroom.

Editor’s note: This is the first opinion piece in a new series on religious liberty authored by BJC Fellows and made possible by a grant from the Prichard Family Foundation. Picture yourself in a first grade classroom, one with…

Tennessee Baptists and Methodists join in call for gun legislation

As the Southern Baptist Speaker of the House in Tennessee continues to stall attempts to address gun violence, some Southern Baptist leaders and United Methodist leaders in the state are calling for more to be done. Speaker of the House…

A baptism that redeemed us all

During my lifetime, I’ve witnessed the baptisms of about a thousand people — mostly children and teens, few adults. While all baptisms are meaningful and contain an element of tenderness and vulnerability, there is something a bit “different” about adult…

The Christian Right continues its futile but dangerous war of reaction

For a long time, it was clear the white Christian Right in the United States was waging a war of reaction (sometimes open, sometimes clandestine) against just about every social, cultural and legal change that has taken place in our…

Patterson and Southwestern settle with Pressler’s accuser

For the second time in two weeks, Paige Patterson and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary have been set free of legal action against them. Writing for the Nashville Tennessean, religion writer Liam Adams reported April 20 that both Patterson and Southwestern…

Josh Butler isn’t done talking about God and sex yet

When The Gospel Coalition and The Keller Center scapegoated Josh Butler due to his article about sex and the church — an excerpt taken from his Beautiful Union book they previously hailed as “the Protestant magnum opus on sexual ethics we’ve been waiting for”…

Oklahoma Baptist University hit by tornado

Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee, Okla., took a direct hit from tornadoes that blew through Central Oklahoma Wednesday evening, April 19. According to published news reports and photos posted online, the campus sustained significant damage, but no person was harmed….

Texas is first step in a national plan to install ‘chaplains’ in public schools instead of professional counselors

A Texas proposal to allow unlicensed “chaplains” to take the place of public school counselors undermines religious liberty, according to Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty and others. The Texas Legislature is considering House Bill 3614 and Senate Bill 763,…

Regarding glue, humility and healing

When I was a little girl, my favorite time of the day was when the teacher brought out the glue, scissors and construction paper. Whether making cards for our parents or building a robot out of shapes — it didn’t…

‘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