Baptist News Global

New platform of Texas GOP is laced with Christian privilege

The Republican Party in the nation’s most populous state controlled by that party has a new platform that invokes the name of God 17 times, calls for special privilege for Christians and demands that Christian prayers, Bible reading and the…

Unzipped: How (not) to commute

There is a zipper merge lane near the interstate exit roughly a mile or so from my house. If you find yourself confused by the phrase “zipper merge lane,” don’t worry, very few licensed drivers in my ZIP Code know…

Author explores contradiction of evangelical support for prison ministry and tough-on-crime laws at same time

It’s hardly surprising that evangelicals have a passion for jail and prison ministries in order to bring comfort and conversion to the incarcerated, historian Aaron Griffith noted during a recent webinar hosted by the Equal Justice USA Evangelical Network. But…

What has John MacArthur actually said about race, slavery and the Curse of Ham?

“This whole genealogical effort could lead to a new genre of bumper stickers, I think, like ‘My forefathers were Philistines’ or like ‘Goliath was in my family’ or ‘I come from a long line of Hittite kings’ or here’s a…

When it comes to leading corporate prayer, are we really all in this together?

Let’s talk about corporate prayer. Houston, we’ve got a problem. Yes, I know it is dangerous to hold oneself out as an expert on anything related to prayer. My true confession is that I’m a whole lot better at praying…

Is America racist at heart?

A question like this typically puts white Americans on edge or at least ill at ease. But these questions must be dealt with if we are ever to truly live up to the greatness espoused in our Constitution. As we…

Note to self: Get rid of resting jerkface

I stopped by the bank the other day to cash a few checks for pocket money. The teller already was having a bad day, I surmised, as she completed a tense conversation with a co-worker while I approached her window….

Don’t keep sweet: Why white Christians need to celebrate Juneteenth

One of the top documentaries on Netflix right now is Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey. It’s about the FLDS, the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, who once were in Utah and then in Texas. If you were…

One year later, awareness of Juneteenth is growing

Over the past two years, the word “Juneteenth” has been one of the most-searched terms on the Baptist News Global website. That quest for understanding coincides with a sudden growing awareness of this milestone day in civil rights history, fueled…

Letter to the Editor: The importance of establishing best practices for pastoral searches

Letter to the Editor June 17, 2022 Dear Editor: In a 2014 article in BNG, writer Marion Aldridge penned an excellent piece on pastoral search committees. According to the article, “Even a tiny, troubled Baptist church can get 100 resumes.”…

Churches in Russian-occupied sections of Ukraine face desperate conditions

Baptist churches in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine face increasingly desperate humanitarian conditions while responding with increasingly creative physical and spiritual outreach efforts, the European Baptist Federation said in its most recent warzone communique. The situation report was released just days…

Leaving church, part 4: The coming clergy shortage

Baptist churches may soon face clergy shortages like other faith traditions. Emily Brown, in a February 2022 Relevant article, “The Great American Clergy Shortage is Coming,” noted: “Roughly 3,544 Catholic parishes in the U.S. lack a parish priest,” and “in…

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