Baptist News Global

Ohioans make a pro-life argument to end capital punishment

An often-overlooked flaw of capital punishment is that it turns its supporters into de facto killers themselves, an opponent of the practice said during “Life Beyond the Death Penalty,” hosted by Ohioans to Stop Executions. Chicagoan Gail Rice, whose police…

Mercer University dedicates new $50 million Medical School campus

Trustees and administrators of Mercer University dedicated a new $50 million Medical School campus on the banks of the Chattahoochee River in Columbus, Ga., April 22. Mercer is the only university with historic ties to the Southern Baptist Convention that…

The invisibility of women in the Bible

Taking a look at our world today, we find that while the profile of Asian Americans may rise in the popular American imagination, the Asian American woman is still shrouded in obscurations created by the white dominant society. The visible…

In liberated areas of Ukraine, church volunteers help sweep for mines and bury the dead

As the Russian assault on Ukraine passed the two-month mark yesterday, the humanitarian work involving churches across the country continued unabated. But church volunteers are being called upon to do things no Bible study lesson could have prepared them to…

In Lviv, there is peace — until people start telling their stories

Lviv has many faces. It is a beautiful city with rich history, majestic architecture, elegant cafes and a joyful atmosphere. Ukrainians call it the capital of coffee, chocolate and street music. All this is here when Rachel and I walk…

Changing Our Mind, 25,000 sales later

I learned this week that sales of my 2014 book Changing Our Mind are just about to cross 25,000, apparently very rare in the book business. This becomes the occasion for my column this week. Long-time readers of Baptist News…

Baptist therapist has a prescription for our anxious pursuit of the good life

The American way of life may be good for business, but it wreaks havoc on the mental and emotional well-being of individuals and society, psychotherapist and former Baptist youth pastor Eric Minton believes. The diagnosis stems from his observation of…

Transitions for the week of 4-22-22

Please submit transitions — including staff changes, ordinations, anniversaries or deaths — to Barbara Francis. This page will be updated bi-weekly. STAFF CHANGES Marjorie Avent, concluding her tenure as minister of youth and young adults at Providence Baptist Church, Charleston, S.C….

With annual meeting attendance on the rise again, SBC must switch locations for 2023

The Southern Baptist Convention has outgrown its meeting space for 2023. In a move reminiscent of days of controversy in the 1980s and 1990s, attendance at SBC annual meetings has been on the rise since 2018 — after settling down…

What if more churches were like Waffle House?

As a religion reporter, my hope in the local church sometimes feels hopeless. We seem to have drifted so far away from the description of the early church found in Acts 2:42-47. There, we are told “they devoted themselves to…

Despite how politicians vote, bipartisan majorities of Americans favor several key environmental initiatives

While climate change initiatives often carry the sound bites of partisan politics, a bipartisan majority of Americans favor key proposals to curb greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. However, as with other hot social and scientific issues —…

Earth Day 2022: A time for the watchman on the wall

Here we are again — another Earth Day. Another opportunity to celebrate all that draws us closer to God through this beautiful and awe-inspiring world. In much of the United States, a taste of spring is bursting forth as we…

Supreme Court slides into partisanship

Before the fireworks, be careful what you drink

The contemptible case of Clarence Thomas

The permanent paradoxes of Christian thinking about war