Baptist News Global

Passport produces “Journey to the Cross” devotionals for Lent

The Passport student camping ministry will release “Journey to the Cross,” its annual Lenten devotional series, on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 22. The series will be published on the organization’s devotional website, d365.0rg. The series — which features Scripture, prayer and…

An invisible wall: How to support your pastor through mental health challenges

I’ll never forget walking into my annual staff evaluation meeting and encountering a roomful of awkward looks. The head of our church’s personnel committee started the meeting off with, “So, do you feel that your … um … anxiety issues…

Child sex abuse survivors from Kanakuk, other organizations unite for statute of limitations reform

Survivors of child sexual abuse are attempting to enact laws in Missouri and Texas to change the legal landscape for Christian camps that cater to children and teens. Four witnesses who say they were abused at Kanakuk Kamps, a popular…

Questions to ask while pondering if Asbury is hosting a ‘true revival’

Surprise! It’s a revival! So said Thomas H. McCall, a theology professor at Asbury Theological Seminary, located adjacent to the ongoing spiritual event at Asbury University in Wilmore, Ky. “Sometimes God does what Johnathan Edwards called ‘surprising work’ and what John…

Great Rivers Fellowship names Caldwell, McNary as first staff leaders

Great Rivers Fellowship, a new Cooperative Baptist Fellowship regional organization formed by the merger of CBF units in Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi, has elected its first staff leaders. Mississippi native Brittany Caldwell, a program coordinator and pastor who most recently…

The pastorate — always a challenge — is even harder in this post-intention world

I served 27 years as a pastor, the last 15 of them in a wonderfully supportive and healthy congregation. Even so, mistrust in the narthex, rooted in our toxic culture, is part of what led me toward the church exit…

If Jesus wants us to forgive everybody, why is he always talking about hell?

I recently highlighted the Jesus-Joshua problem: Jesus wants us to love our enemies. Joshua wants us to slaughter them. Both can’t be right. But what about the demand for justice that reverberates throughout Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation? If we…

Beth Allison Barr and Kristin Du Mez: The history of women, patriarchy, inequality and challenging conservative views

Historians, academics and authors Beth Allison Barr and Kristin Kobes Du Mez discussed the challenges and rewards of being Christian women in a male-oriented world and profession during a wide-ranging discussion at Baylor University Feb. 16. Barr, the James Vardaman…

Fear lies at the core of racism in the church and society, Beth Moore tells Truett audience

White evangelicals who claim they love the Bible but dismiss its demands for social justice as devious misinterpretations of “woke” culture continue to astound Beth Moore, she told participants in a conference sponsored by Baylor University’s George W. Truett Seminary….

Benkert resigns SBC task force amid criticism for reporting two churches that platformed accused sexual abuser

An Indiana pastor who reported two congregations to the Southern Baptist Convention’s Credentials Committee for platforming accused sexual abuser Johnny Hunt has resigned from the SBC’s Abuse Reform Implementation Task Force. Todd Benkert’s sudden resignation from the task force came…

Jacksonville church isn’t the only SBC congregation requiring members to affirm statements on sexuality

When First Baptist Church of Jacksonville, Fla., announced all members would have to sign a statement on “biblical sexuality” or be kicked out, the idea sounded novel to most Baptists. Baptists in America are not accustomed to being required to…

Control and abuse: Report sheds new light on the beginnings of L’Arche and the life and legacy of Jean Vanier, its founder

Jean Vanier, the renowned and beloved author, speaker and founder of L’Arche, an international network of residential communities supporting adults with intellectual disabilities, also was a sexual predator of women, according to a report released Jan. 30. The report was…

‘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