Baptist News Global

It’s a short distance from your Thanksgiving table jokes to queer people being shot dead

Are you alive? My phone began blowing up with texts, emails and messages early Sunday morning. Are you safe? This is not the first time I’ve experienced this. Are your people safe? My body remembers; we’ve been here before. Sunday…

Can you guess the largest Christian ministries in America by annual revenue?

What would you guess are the largest Christian ministries in America by total annual revenue? If you guessed an institution of higher education, you might be right. The No. 1, 2 and 3 spots on the list are occupied by…

If you want to offer thoughts and prayers after the latest massacre at a queer club, do so with your actions

Five people were killed and at least 25 injured when a young man walked into a queer bar in Colorado Springs and started shooting. We don’t need any more “thoughts and prayers” after these acts of violence. I’m not saying don’t…

Get on your sweaters: ‘Christian Girl Autumn’ is here

As Thanksgiving comes closer, Christian women everywhere are going into their closets and pulling out their jeans, sweaters, infinity scarves and flannels. That’s right folks — Christian Girl Autumn is here. The running online joke, that all Christian women dress…

Three stories from Jesus about the danger of hierarchy and gratitude

Remember the parable where Jesus warned against thankfulness in corporate worship? It’s a well-known parable in Luke 18, the first in a trilogy of scenes that question our assumptions about status and blessing in relationship with others. In the third…

Majority of Americans favor legalizing marijuana but holdouts are older, religious and conservative

While a majority of Americans now believe marijuana should be legalized in the United States, conservative, religious and older Americans remain the most skeptical of the idea. A recent analysis of aggregate polling data from Gallup found support for legalization…

A better definition of patriotism

This week, a reader of Baptist News Global wrote to columnist Greg Garrett to refute his excellent column on Brittney Griner. I wrote a similar column back in August. Our points were similar: Why is a Baptist university like Baylor…

Six lessons learned on my interfaith journey

By way of introduction, I am a devoted follower of Jesus with a passion for interfaith relations. I was born and reared in Florida in the family of a Southern Baptist pastor, where Dad and Mom helped form in me…

Arkansas ‘free exercise of religion’ amendment fails at ballot box

A controversial Arkansas ballot initiative to “protect religious freedom” from government intrusion narrowly failed in the Nov. 8 elections. Arkansas Issue 3, the “Government Burden of Free Exercise of Religion Amendment,” was not adopted by a 49.57% to 50.43% vote….

Becoming a ‘midwife of grace’ — an interview with Molly Marshall

At age 12, Molly Marshall’s pastor asked if she’d ever considered working with young people as a career option. She thought to herself, “Well of course I haven’t, I am one!” Two years later, at age 14, while at a…

Author explains the history of ‘Peace Be Still’ and its social influence

One of “the most beloved gospel songs of all time” achieved that status by offering Americans hope during some of the darkest moments of the 19th and 20th centuries, according to Robert Marovich, founder and editor-in-chief of the Journal of…

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