Baptist News Global

Judge’s dismissal of 36 churches’ lawsuit holds implications for other UMC departures

A North Carolina judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought by 36 United Methodist churches seeking to leave the denomination without following its required exit process. The dismissal holds broader implications for the slow-moving splintering of the worldwide denomination, which currently…

‘Woke’: I don’t think that word means what you say it does

I have been bumping into this strange word, “woke,” a lot lately. I wondered what it meant. Digging around, I found “woke” means to be alert to racial and social discrimination and injustice. Why is this considered such a bad…

Why a potential indictment of Donald Trump will matter so little to most of his Christian supporters

The country is collectively holding its breath this week to see whether former President Donald Trump will be indicted for falsifying business records to cover up the payment of $130,000 of “hush money” to adult film actress Stormy Daniels on…

Increased frequency of church attendance correlates with decreased interpersonal trust

On March 8, statistician, pastor and author Ryan Burge tweeted a series of graphs showing responses from survey participants sorted by varying frequencies of religious service attendance. Participants answered the question, “Generally speaking, would you say that most people can…

The Russian Orthodox Church is a big loser in the Russian-Ukrainian war

On year later, the Russian–Ukrainian war has not created many winners. Everyone seems to have lost. The Ukrainian people have endured incredible suffering and destruction. Russian Ministry of Defense puts the number of casualties in the Russian army at thousands….

Barna finds pastors are exhausted and isolated, which could be an opportunity for change

Pastors in the United States continue to feel increasingly exhausted, isolated and uncertain of their place in ministry in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Barna reports in a new study on clergy resilience. Barna said its research “shows that…

On the path to immigration justice, it’s time for Biden to change course

A key message delivered in President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address just last month emphasized that “it’s our duty to protect all the people’s rights and freedoms.” And yet President Biden’s actions don’t live up to his rhetoric….

One-third of Northern Seminary students express no confidence in trustees

More than 100 students at Northern Seminary have signed a letter stating they have no confidence in the board of trustees to manage the Chicago-area school in light of recent events with former President Bill Shiell. That represents one-third of…

He was wrongly put on Death Row and believes you could be too

When the state of Florida could muster no evidence to convict Ron Wright in a double homicide case, it succeeded by spinning an elaborate narrative about him in court, the 2017 death row exoneree said. “Mine was a ‘wholly circumstantial’…

If a story is meant to evolve, then so are we

The word “story” is defined as “an account of past events in someone’s life or in the evolution of something.” I think about this a lot when I travel and speak: How does our story evolve, change and become? How…

Paula Faris makes a case for motherhood

Paula Faris wants to make a case for working moms. The former Good Morning America anchor and former co-host of The View was inspired by Lee Strobel’s book The Case for Christ. “I loved how Lee Strobel put Jesus on…

Sociologists find LGBTQ United Methodists, allies stay in UMC out of hope

Sociologists Nancy Malcom and A.J. Ramirez, both United Methodists, hoped they might get at least 50 responses when they first started to research why LGBTQ church members and their allies stayed in a denomination that officially condemns “homosexual practice” as…

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