Baptist News Global

Foundry Network offers third alternative to disaffected UMC churches

A collaboration of former United Methodist large-membership churches has announced creation of an association to provide accountability and resources without the constraints of a denomination. The Foundry Network will launch in September, according to an announcement posted on Facebook by…

Karla’s story: The crossing of hurt and hope

Week after week, the Border Church sees migrants and would-be asylees on its southern side. As migrant waves wax and wane and U.S. budgets rise and fall, our weekly work with migrants awaiting entry into the U.S. near San Diego…

White House acts to ‘preserve and fortify’ DACA, but advocates say that’s the bare minimum needed

A new Biden administration rule designed to “preserve and fortify” the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program was welcomed by immigration advocates who quickly added that the Aug. 24 White House action is not enough to permanently safeguard Dreamers. “The…

Reversal of fortunes: Bake sales to support our troops

One recent slow morning in August, the grocery store circulars in the newspaper caught my attention. And I began to wonder how things might be different if certain fortunes were reversed. Instead of “back-to-school” it’s “back-to-basic-training” discount offers. Imagine the…

On social media, the Bible verses are flying in a debate over student loan forgiveness

Within hours of its announcement, the new White House plan to forgive $10,000 to $20,000 per person in student loan debt became a theological dividing line as much as a political one. Critics of the debt forgiveness initiative turned to…

Rich Villodas wants to build a world that’s good and beautiful and kind

Rich Villlodas describes himself humbly and with certainty: He’s a husband to his wife, Rosie, a father to two beautiful children, a son, a pastor and a follower of Jesus. Through his books and his tenure as pastor of New…

Readers bristle at Desiring God column on beards as signs of God’s intent to separate men from women

It turns out there’s more than a hairs-width of difference between the theology of the TheoBros and most everyone else. The Christian Twitterverse has been aflame the past few days about an article published on the website of the conservative…

Do Franklin Graham’s accusations against progressive Christianity hold up against truth?

Back on May 1, 2022, Franklin Graham, CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, posted an article in Decision Magazine titled, “The Eternal Peril of Progressive Christianity.” In this article, Graham expressed many poignant statements about the progressive Christian movement…

In Afghanistan, terror multiplies for LGBTQ persons, women and girls

Life has gone from bad to worse for LGBTQ persons in Afghanistan during the year since the Taliban took control of the nation, attorney and human rights activist Joseph Azam said. He spoke during an Aug. 24 webinar hosted by…

The American history some people wish weren’t true

Scrolling the web for morning news, I came across an article titled, “Historical Facts You’ll Wish Weren’t Really True.” The article turned out to be about historical oddities of not even passing interest. The headline, however, suggests an entire philosophy…

LGBTQ resource center will benefit from anti-gay church’s penalties for illegal performances of Hamilton

Have you heard the one about the church that ripped off the most successful Broadway musical of the moment, rewrote parts of the script and turned it into an altar-call evangelistic event? Turns out that anti-gay church in McAllen, Texas,…

Transitions for the week of 8-26-22

Please submit transitions — including staff changes, ordinations, anniversaries or deaths — to Barbara Francis. This page will be updated bi-weekly. STAFF CHANGES Adrian Bullock, to Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of North Carolina, as Triangle area campus minister. Jordan Conley, to Crescent…

How much is enough?

Robert Sloan, Baptist educator, dies at 77

What patriotism is not

Amid flurry of rulings, habeas corpus spells trouble for Trump immigration policies