Baptist News Global

Letter to the Editor: Responses to the livestream worship debate

Letter to the Editor: February 17, 2022 Dear Editor: I am grateful to the many people who responded to my opinion piece, “A Cautious Case Against Livestreaming Worship.” The readership for this less than 800-word piece far exceeds any of…

BWIM seeks nominations for two awards

Baptist Women in Ministry seeks nominations for the 2022 Frankie Huff Granger Distinguished Mentor and Church of Excellence awards. Established in 2013, the Distinguished Mentor Award honors the legacy and ministry of Frankie Huff Granger, who served at First Baptist…

Research documents slide in respect for pastors and belief in their influence

New research confirms what many pastors already know — that they are decreasingly respected and influential in U.S. society. “Pastors, for the most part, are peripheral and ornamental. Quaint, but not entirely necessary. Kind, but not wholly credible,” Barna senior…

The meaning of Jesus in these odd times, part two

In his fascinating study, American Jesus: How the Son of God became a National Icon, Boston University professor Stephen Prothero wrote: It is highly unlikely that Americans will ever come to any consensus about who Jesus really is, but they…

Everything you need to know about the rise in efforts to ban books from libraries

Remember those quaint days when some people tried to ban the Harry Potter books from libraries because they were sure kids would learn how to cast spells if they read the fictional accounts of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?…

Transitions for the week of 2-18-22

Please submit transitions — including staff changes, ordinations, anniversaries or deaths — to Barbara Francis. This page will be updated bi-weekly. STAFF CHANGES Mark Blankenship, to First Baptist Church, Huntsville, Ala., as interim minister of music and worship. Benjamin Boyd, to…

Whatever happened to Southern Baptists and church autonomy?

Neither one of us had a clue what we were doing 12 years ago, but a friend and I started a church. We didn’t know anything about starting a church, but we knew a great deal about church. Between us,…

Blessed are both new wineskins and new wine

Expressing the words of the Bible in contemporary language has a long history, as an internet search demonstrates by noting that “the earliest translation into a vernacular European language other than Latin or Greek was the Gothic Bible, by Ulfilas,…

Utah bill to end capital punishment stalls in committee

A bill that would end capital punishment in Utah stalled in a state legislative committee Feb. 14, leaving death penalty opponents saddened but determined to carry on their fight for abolition. House Bill 147 was voted down 5-6 during a…

Brian Flores, the Rooney Rule and some lessons for churches seeking diversity

“It happened again!” That was my thought when I got up to leave the church interview. Although this was pre-social media, I can remember it like it was yesterday. A very well-meaning friend sent my name into the medium-size church…

Ukrainian and European Baptist leaders issue urgent calls to prayer

Ukrainian Baptist leaders, along with other European Baptist leaders, have issued urgent calls to prayer for the intense conflict emerging at the Ukrainian-Russian border. As dawn broke in the region Wednesday, Feb. 16, the status of the enormous threat from…

Letter to the Editor: A response from Oklahoma Senator Rob Standridge

Letter to the Editor February 15, 2022 Dear Editor: Per your article on Feb. 7, 2022, I was smeared for filing bills trying to protect the religious freedom of religious and Christian citizens in Oklahoma. Although I did remove the religious…

Except for white evangelicals, Americans have soured on Trump’s leadership

CBF approves $16 million budget, leaders challenge more mission

The Black Church was not meant to save America

Caner sues Truett-McConnell for wrongful firing