Baptist News Global

It’s not just pastors modern Republicans don’t trust; they also question doctors and politicians who won’t endorse Trump’s lies

Pastors who find some congregants no longer trusting them as much as before are not alone. Two new national polls show significant drops in the percentage of Republicans who trust the medical advice their doctors give or who trust their…

YHWH vs. the Singularity

In a recent issue of The Atlantic, novelist and playwright Ayad Akhtar argues that we have now arrived in the age of the Singularity, the hypothetical point in time at which technological growth becomes uncontrollable and irreversible, resulting in never-before-foreseeable…

Amid the dire situations forcing asylum seekers from Afghanistan and Latin America, LGBTQ persons face even more extreme danger

While the plight of many people unable to leave the Taliban’s grip in Afghanistan has been well-reported, there’s one group of people facing even more extreme persecution with fewer exit routes: LGBTQ asylum seekers. Recent reports from organizations tracking the…

How a 5-minute phone call changed my view of being a pastor

A five-minute phone call completely changed the way I think as a pastor. Every Monday in our church staff meeting, one of our team members leads a devotional before our collective time of prayer. On this particular Monday, one pastor…

Samford and Candler grad at center of Tennessee controversy over Bible history class in public schools

A middle school teacher with an undergraduate religion degree from a Baptist university and a master of divinity degree from a Methodist seminary now finds herself at the center of a controversy over alleged hate speech against Jews. Moreover, Chattanooga’s…

Yes, I like the ‘old’ hymns too, but not the ones you may think

Yesterday, a friend agreed with an article about liking old hymns more than much of today’s worship music. This is right where I live. With 50-plus years of music ministry under my belt, and as a bit of a self-proclaimed…

Baylor gets $2.7 million grant to study character development in students

Does getting a college education in a faith-based context develop more virtuous graduates? Baylor University researchers have been given a $2.7 million grant to find out. The John Templeton Foundation has awarded the grant to Baylor — a Baptist-affiliated school…

Charitable giving bounces back in 2021 but more for secular than sacred causes

Americans’ giving to charitable causes bounced back in 2021 after a dip at the start of the pandemic, but most of the recovery was in the secular nonprofit world, not the religion sector. New data from Gallup show 81% of…

When following the line leads us astray

“The Lord is the portion of my inheritance and my cup; you support my lot. The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me.” — Psalm 16:5-6 Back nearly 30 years ago, I…

Why church expectations for a youth minister may be unrealistic and how to change them

For several years, as an adjunct professor teaching youth ministry courses and giving leadership to the Center for Church and Community at Campbell University, I have received requests that sound like this: “We are looking for help finding a youth…

Is it time for another Gettysburg Address?

Our nation lives in suspended grief over 900,000 dead from COVID. Every day we go to the funeral home, the graveyard. Every day the bells toll for those who keep dying from COVID. Where are words of comfort? Is there…

In Black and Hispanic congregations, parishioners often turn to pastors for mental health issues, which in turn creates mental health stress for pastors

New research shows that pastors remain the go-to mental health providers for many members of Black and Hispanic churches in the United States. Congregants report this stems from belief that faith alone can heal emotional trauma, from stigma surrounding treatment…

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