Baptist News Global

White blindness is a barrier to racial justice, Boesak tells BWA

A major obstacle to racial justice and reconciliation is white blindness to the systemic nature of racism and the refusal to acknowledge and seek redemption for past and present oppression, a South African anti-apartheid activist said during the Baptist World…

The equality of all people is indeed inalienable

The recent Supreme Court decision to reverse Roe v. Wade has reminded us that the state of women in our country is more disturbing than we might at first want to think. Not only have the rights of women to…

Sam Harrell leaving CBF Global Missions for Africa Exchange role

The two top leadership roles for Cooperative Baptist Fellowship Global Missions soon will be vacant, as Sam Harrell leaves his post as associate coordinator July 31. He has been named full-time coordinator of Africa Exchange, which serves vulnerable children in…

Following Saint Francis from a safe distance

Last week, Carol and I joined the 4 to 5 million pilgrims who will make their way this year to Assisi, Italy, the cradle of Franciscan spirituality, to walk in the footsteps of St. Francis and buy sacred refrigerator magnets….

Belief in a literal interpretation of the Bible at all-time low among Americans, Gallup reports

While response to recent Supreme Court rulings on abortion, religious liberty and gun control have shown how widely out of step conservative evangelicals in America are from the rest of the population, there’s fresh data showing a similar gap on…

Here’s why cremation is now chosen after 57% of all U.S. deaths

The ongoing surge in U.S. cremation rates can accurately be described as “stunning,” author and grief educator Harold Ivan Smith said. “When I was in mortuary school in 1966, cremation was probably done in 1% of cases,” said Smith, also…

Understanding sexual diversity: Invisible people

Do you remember Pat, the hilariously androgynous character seen on Saturday Night Live in the early 1990s? The humor focused on Pat’s gender ambiguity and the discomfort of others encountering them. The tension never was resolved for the SNL audience,…

Why evangelicals may be fearful of distancing themselves from John MacArthur

Joe Paterno was an iconic figure, loved by college football and the community where he lived. Unfortunately, his career and reputation were tarnished by accusations that Paterno had protected his assistant coach, Jerry Sandusky, who for decades molested children. While…

A fond, fade-proof 2022 memory: Ezra’s and Marvo’s big Boston adventure

Go ahead and ask me what I’ll remember most from 2022. I’m pretty sure I know what it’ll be. This year’s memory-making competition could be fierce, for sure: History will record Russia’s unprompted, immoral, savage war on Ukraine in bold…

Transitions for the week of 7-15-22

Please submit transitions — including staff changes, ordinations, anniversaries or deaths — to Barbara Francis. This page will be updated bi-weekly. STAFF CHANGES Dirk Austin, concluding his tenure as associate minister of music for Antioch Baptist Church, Taylorsville, N.C. Sarah Boberg,…

Learning from Alma Woodsey Thomas how to find beauty within, around and through life

Are you searching for new skills needed to navigate life these days? The familiar paths were linear and logical, and too often, they go nowhere. Many feel they’re walking a labyrinth in the shadows. Imagine that circular shape and come…

Displaced by the war in Ukraine, some Nigerian medical students won’t be allowed to practice if they come home

In the last six months of his sojourn abroad as a medical student, Maurice Nwokejiezi has, on at least two occasions, come up against forces determined to thwart his ambition. The first was in Ukraine where in February, as a…

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