Baptist News Global

2021 was a very good year for growth in assets for SBC’s largest agencies

The Southern Baptist Convention’s North American Mission Board nearly tripled its investment income in 2021 compared to 2020, according to the latest financial reports published in the SBC Annual 2022. NAMB booked $44.93 million in investment income for 2021, compared…

Buttrick and Buechner in the balcony of heaven

It was Carlyle Marney, I think, who first named our personal saints in the “great cloud of witnesses” as those in “the balcony of heaven.” On the occasion of the death of Frederick Buechner, I offer these memories of the…

Peter Makapela: One man’s journey from racial hatred during South Africa’s apartheid years to a voice of racial reconciliation

When he was 14, Peter Makapela and his cousin Xolani joined scores of other schoolchildren in Cape Town, South Africa, to protest miserable conditions in the area’s schools for Black children. It was 1989, the height of public resistance to…

Beware: The chapter and verse divisions and the internal commentary in English Bibles may fail us

The familiar division of the Bible into chapters and verses helps us locate our Scriptures of interest. Yet, it took 1,200 to 1,500 years before translators and publishers put them there; and, thankfully so. However, like dishwashers, iPhones and all…

‘So you’ve been deconstructing, huh? What do you believe now?’

There is perhaps no greater trend in American Christianity than deconstructing the theology and ethics of white evangelicalism. Books, articles, podcasts and even music are being created daily to explore the reasons why so many people are leaving the faith…

Ministry jobs and more

Baptist News Global provides a free listing of ministry-related jobs for Baptist churches, theological institutions and organizations across the United States. Each free posting is for 30 days and is limited to 150 words. Postings may be extended another 30…

Armed with high court’s praying coach decision, more conservative Christians hope to score religious discrimination claims

Attorneys in three ongoing freedom of religion cases are urging federal judges to consider recent U.S. Supreme court decisions when ruling on their disputes. The development was pointed out by Don Byrd, author of Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty’s…

Is Nigeria really the world’s most dangerous place for Christians?

Over the past several months, two Christian NGOs — Open Doors and the Voice of the Martyrs — have been persistent in their claims about religious violence in Nigeria. Both organizations believe the many acts of terror recorded in the…

Evangelicals’ hypocrisy is sending their neighbors to hell — and they don’t care

American evangelicals’ most besetting — and most damning — sin is hypocrisy. “Evangelical” has taken on a political connotation, of course. But at their core, modern-day evangelicals are Christians who actively pursue the conversion of sinners, believe the Bible is…

My conflicted history on abortion

I candidly struggle with abortion. My thoughts ebb and flow with the chatter and stridency on both sides of the issue, ultimately rising from a low background murmur to an insistent, rasping hum reminiscent of standing beneath a long-distance, electric…

In a three-way scheme, hustlers sell Netflix access to the faithful in Zimbabwe using American bank cards and government office Wi-Fi

Netflix is angry about account sharing, seeing the practice as an unfair, under-the-table raid of its revenue. But in devout, fiercely Pentecostal Zimbabwe — where joblessness is deep and inflation is, according to John Hopkins University, at a frightening 487%…

When the door closes: Tips for transitioning out of a ministry role

Last August, I was called into a meeting with my associate pastor to discuss the direction of my role within the church staff. I had been leading the music ministry of that church for six years, but the last two…

Matthew Vines sets off a debate over what it means to be ‘queer’

Dear Mike Johnson, be careful what you ask for

What, to the white Christian, is America 250?

Four years later, anti-abortionists battle on other fronts