Baptist News Global

Salvation as deliverance and blessing: Moving from Thanksgiving through Advent to Christmas

It was the Old Testament theologian Claus Westermann who startled me years ago by talking about the two ways God saves in the Bible: salvation as deliverance and salvation as blessing. Most theologians and preachers focus on salvation as deliverance,…

Pew reports on how faith communities were treated during first year of COVID worldwide

Religious groups in nearly 25% of the world’s countries were subjected to government force to prevent in-person gatherings during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, and even more endured social hostilities and conspiracy theories blaming them for the spread…

The present crisis for church staff

Churches in America have been living amid rapid change for several decades now, accelerated like a dive on a roller coaster by COVID. Previously, much of our attention has focused on institutional change and challenges, the big picture of congregations…

What have we learned about Matt Chandler’s sin and restoration? Not much

Among the many reasons people are leaving institutional churches, there is one that runs deeper than them all. John MacArthur says it’s because “they deconstruct the Bible to give room for their pet sins and tolerances.” The Gospel Coalition says it’s…

Six Scriptures undergirding my attitude toward other faiths

Recently, I wrote an opinion piece outlining six lessons I have learned on my interfaith journey. I concluded by stating it was really the way Jesus treated those who were different, the “outsiders,” that prompted my acceptance and celebration of…

Even if U.S. government fails immigrants, faith groups say they’ll keep working

Faith groups will continue to show welcome and compassion to immigrants and asylum seekers at the U.S.-Mexico border whether or not Congress and the White House implement common sense, humane immigration policies, said Dylan Corbett, executive director of Hope Border…

Why does Al Mohler claim the Respect for Marriage Act opposes the ‘moral order’ and religious freedom despite specific provisions protecting religion?

Al Mohler does not like the Respect for Marriage Act. In fact, he believes it is an offense to the “moral order” of creation. The Respect for Marriage Act is a federal bill that passed the Senate this week and currently…

What happens when one church controls a majority of the City Council?

In Redding, Calif., members of a single evangelical megachurch now control a majority of seats on the City Council. While this is a highly unusual situation for a city of nearly 100,000 people, Bethel Church is a highly unusual congregation…

What The Atlanta Opera and theater companies might teach the church about post-COVID adaptation

“The show must go on” was the mantra of many performance organizations forced to become even more creative during the COVID pandemic. Operas moved outside, and bassoonists took their bows online. Churches followed suit and pivoted to streaming worship services…

Georgia Baptist Mission Board to vacate property and move into a local church

One of the largest state conventions affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention has reduced its staff to such a level that it’s moving to office space in a local church. Thomas Hammond, executive director of the Georgia Baptist Mission Board,…

SBC president blasts idea of Johnny Hunt’s ‘restoration’ to ministry

In a highly unusual move, the current president of the Southern Baptist Convention has denounced the “restoration” of a former SBC president to ministry six months after public allegations of sexual abuse. “The idea that a council of pastors, assembled…

On meeting death as a sister

What if death isn’t the enemy we often think it is? And what if reconsidering our theology of death might help us live deeper into the union of self and neighbor? In four weeks, Christians across the world will celebrate…

An American experiment: 250 years of trying

10 reasons America is not a ‘Christian nation’

American Dominion traces deep roots of Seven Mountain Mandate

Lindsey Graham and the history of ‘widow’s succession’