Baptist News Global

UMC agency asks to monitor bishop’s case as suspicion rises

A churchwide agency charged with monitoring the participation of women in the United Methodist Church has asked to observe the judicial process investigating complaints against Bishop Minerva G. Carcaño, who has been suspended from active ministry for a year without…

Polling is shifting on conservatives’ attitudes on immigration

The results of a new survey reveal strong Republican and evangelical support for meaningful immigration reforms and may suggest that harsh anti-immigrant rhetoric does not resonate with most conservative voters, a leading U.S. immigration advocate said. “We found really high…

The SBC: ‘They are who we thought they were’

On October 16, 2006, the Chicago Bears came back to defeat the Arizona Cardinals 24-23. The game was considered the “comeback of the year” because the Bears were trailing by 20 points at halftime. What made the feat even greater…

Denny Burk pushes back against Rick Warren’s new understanding of women in ministry

Yes, women may have preached on the Day of Pentecost, but the “office of pastor” is reserved for men, a leading spokesman for complementarian theology said in response to Rick Warren’s recent explanation about why he changed his mind on…

Blowing the whistle on wedding fouls

“One last thing. If you ever have a choice between performing a wedding or performing funeral, take the funeral.” So said my pastor when I was 15 and announced my goal to follow in his footsteps. He wasn’t joking. At…

Akin apologizes for tweet about slavery but is chastised by the SBC’s far-right

A Southern Baptist Convention seminary president apologized March 11 for his “unwise words” in a tweet about Texas Tech University football coach Mark Adams. The apology tweet was graciously received by many in the SBC and beyond, but it was…

‘Grandmas make the best banana bread’

With the morning sun wrapping rays around the two windows in the bedroom, causing a pale light to creep steadily in from their edges, my oldest child rustles the bedsheets. It’s like she can feel the idea of warmth, the…

80,000 Jews have fled Russia since Putin invaded Ukraine

Jews are urged to flee Russia as the persecution of religious minorities in that country increasingly matches the oppression of Ukrainian faith groups, an exiled rabbi said during a webinar hosted by the U.S. Commission on Religious Liberty. “This new…

Africa’s freelance prophets are breaking free of denominations

Zikode Phiri calls himself a “freelance prophet.” He has just completed a tour of France and Britain for “private prayer” clients — laying on hands, casting out demons, and interpreting dreams for those who have paid for his visa and…

Troubling the water, a gospel for the ‘unmet’

These days, I can’t get this Gospel text out of my head: Now in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate there is a pool, called in Hebrew Beth-zatha, which has five porticoes. In these lay many ill, blind, lame, and paralyzed people. One man was…

Thirty years later, no one has reshaped the SBC more than Albert Mohler

Gallons of ink — physical and digital — have been spilled writing about the transformation of the Southern Baptist Convention at the hands of Paul Pressler and Paige Patterson. While they were, indeed, the architects of the “takeover” of the…

Transitions for the week of 3-17-23

Please submit transitions — including staff changes, ordinations, anniversaries or deaths — to Barbara Francis. This page will be updated bi-weekly. STAFF CHANGES Joe Abell, to Second Branch Baptist Church, Chesterfield, Va., as interim pastor. Lori Bade, to Broadmoor Baptist Church,…

‘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