Baptist News Global

‘Bindergate’ story shows the behind-the-scenes struggle for unity versus strict orthodoxy in SBC

Southern Baptists were early to the cultural war over Critical Race Theory, but documents obtained by the Nashville Tennessean show the tightrope denominational leaders have walked trying to placate white ultra-conservatives while not running off Black conservatives. A Dec. 8…

Americans growing less religious and more strictly religious at the same time

In the current sociology of American religion, there are two trends moving in opposite directions. The “nones” are growing in number, while among those who identify as Christian, varieties of fundamentalism are growing. Religion researcher Ryan Burge recently summarized this…

Atheism and agnosticism: The last closet

In 1996, John Updike released his 17th novel, In the Beauty of the Lilies, a story about a Presbyterian minister, Clarence Wilmot, who loses his faith, leaves the ministry and becomes an encyclopedia salesman. In a strange case of art…

If we are to accept Advent’s invitation, we must talk about money

There’s a joke we tell in my line of work: “Why does the church spend so much time talking about what goes on in the bedroom? Because we’re too scared to talk about what goes on in the boardroom.” Perhaps…

New Netflix docuseries highlights the wisdom of our elders

“To walk toward the future, the past is needed.” That nugget of wisdom from Pope Francis describes in a sentence the mission behind Stories of a Generation, a four-part Netflix documentary series set for release on Christmas Day. The docuseries…

What the prophet Amos has to say about the Omicron variant

7,500 miles. That’s the approximate distance between Johannesburg, South Africa — the city where the new Omicron COVID variant first was detected — and the East Coast of the United States. It would be at least a 12-day drive or…

This group organizes support for creation care as a matter of faith

A Baptist-led ecumenical ministry is partnering with embattled communities in several Latin American countries to take on governments and corporations that are exacerbating the effects of climate change through political corruption and oppression, mining, deforestation and water contamination. The Continental…

Merry Christmas from Paul the apostle in prison

Leave it the Apostle Paul to make a prison cell sound like a spiritual oasis. Throughout much of the New Testament, he’s trapped, you know, imprisoned by the Roman Empire for preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. Time and again,…

How our refugee resettlement program came to be so broken and what to do about it

At the close of the fiscal year in September, the U.S. had resettled only 11,411 refugees. That’s the lowest number in the history of our refugee resettlement program. Here’s how we got here. When a refugee enters the resettlement system, they’re starting a lengthy process with five distinct steps. First, they must be…

Houston pastor voted off local school board by angry parents who called him a Black liberal racist

Pastor John Ogletree never imagined he would be unseated from his local school board position amid charges that he is a Black liberal racist. But after 17 years of service, he is out of office — along with two other…

Ministry jobs and more

Baptist News Global provides a free listing of ministry-related jobs for Baptist churches, theological institutions and organizations across the United States. Each free posting is for 30 days and is limited to 150 words. Postings may be extended another 30…

School boards are ‘local beacons of democracy’ and susceptible to national discord, panelists explain

Local school board protests targeted at COVID-19 mask mandates, transgender student rights and Critical Race Theory are inspired at least as much by state and national politics as they are by parental concerns about education and student safety, a panel…

Nobody dislikes Southern Baptists more than Al Mohler

Trump EEOC claims more religious discrimination on vaccine mandates

What I wish Christians knew about Sharia Law

On telling a brother he is going to hell