Baptist News Global

Martin Luther King preached freedom in Africa too

At the height of his fame in the 1950s and ’60s, Martin Luther King Jr. waged a two-front struggle, battling segregation and racial injustice and inequality in America and drawing attention to the challenges in Africa caused by colonialism. His…

Upcoming Supreme Court decision could take more native children off the reservation

This June, the United States Supreme Court is expected to issue a ruling that could determine the constitutionality of the Indian Child Welfare Act. This 1978 law governs the adoption process for indigenous children, and its dismantling could have ruinous…

A privileged white Southern dad reflects on racism and the legacy of MLK

“I was born a poor Black child.” So begins Steve Martin’s movie The Jerk — the first R-rated movie I saw. I was 13 and begged my college-professor father to take me. As we were leaving his office, he asked…

Does NAMB have no clue?

I’ve kept quiet amid the several years of very public clamoring for more financial transparency at the Southern Baptist Convention’s North American Mission Board because I no longer have a dog in that hunt. However, the Ritz-Carlton Hotel is a…

What is the cost of the church’s failure in ‘Explaining Jesus’ to its members?

In his 2018 song “Explaining Jesus” Jordy Searcy opens the floor to a solemn and honest discussion about evangelical church life. He begins the song with lyrics that acknowledge some gay believers’ feelings of inadequacy when they consider their relationship…

As climate changes, South Africa’s river baptisms spell danger

Climate change is intensifying river flooding across South Africa. For indigenous Christian churches that conduct unlicensed, open-river baptisms, tragedies are mounting too. Nomusa Bandile lost a teenage daughter Dec. 7 when, during an open-river baptism by an unlicensed pastor, 14…

This will happen in 2023 (I think)

Predicting the future is a fool’s game. Right in my wheelhouse, in other words. Fools and pundits rush in where wiser souls fear to tread. With that boulder-sized grain of salt in mind, here are my predictions for 2023: Let’s…

Young adults and those who attended church infrequently before pandemic are most likely to be missing from church today

The COVID-19 pandemic caused significant disruptions to American religious life by accelerating ongoing downward trends in religious attendance, with the biggest decreases occurring among young adults and those with previously infrequent levels of participation, new research shows. The January survey…

Maston Foundation immigration retreat opened my eyes

How do you put into words an experience that changed mindsets, transformed hearts and inspired hearts? It is challenging to express, but a recent T.B. Maston Foundation retreat on immigration truly had a profound impact on me. I knew little…

Passport gets $1 million Lilly grant

Passport, a national student ministry, has received a $1 million grant from the Lilly Endowment Inc. to support The Growing Faith Initiative. The grant will expand and enhance Passport’s daily devotional site, d365.org, and allow Passport to more readily connect…

I want to experience God in 2023

Although it was almost 35 years ago, I still remember asking myself what we were going to do about Christmas. My single-parent mom was dealing with the debilitating health issue of Lupus, and she had not been able to work…

Hunger alleviation program developed at Baylor adopted as federal program

A summer meals program created by the Baylor Collaborative on Hunger and Poverty has transitioned from a demonstration project into a full-blown federal strategy to combat childhood hunger. Meals-To-You was included in the 2023 Omnibus Appropriations Bill signed into law…

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