In the wake of the violence of January 6, 2021, some observers wondered why the insurrectionists at the U.S. Capitol weren’t charged with domestic terrorism. The reason is simple: There is no standalone federal crime on the books for domestic...
Three months ago, I became a father to a baby girl — my firstborn. Daily, I am amazed how something so small can draw out of me so much love. I am not underselling it to say that in such…
The Southern Baptist pastor who in October filed suit against a former Southern Baptist Convention agency head for defamation has withdrawn the suit, explaining that he trusts God to take care of him and judge the matter. “This was a…
After nearly two years of largely favoring the free-exercise-of-religion claims brought by conservative Christians during the COVID-19 pandemic, the United States Supreme Court drew a firm line against such claims Dec. 13. Presented with a request for an emergency injunction…
The Cooperative Baptist Fellowhip announced today resumption of new appointments to field service through its Global Missions program after a two-year pause necessitated by the global pandemic. Elket Rodríguez has been named as CBF field personnel to serve among the…
Events often occur in a series spaced out far enough that it becomes difficult to understand the comprehensive nature of the series. Often the space between the events makes it appear the events are episodic. Such is the case with…
To many Americans, the Duggar family was known as an example of traditional values, treasuring the life of the unborn, protecting the purity of their unwed children, bearing a strong religious influence not only in ultraconservative Christian circles, but also…
Most Americans believe there is no justifiable religious reason to refuse vaccinations, and a majority also say too many people are using faith merely as an excuse to avoid getting the COVID-19 vaccine, new research shows. The updated Religion and…
As a kid, my family had the vinyl LP Andy Williams Christmas album, which we faithfully broke out ahead of the holidays each year. The song I most remember is the one that has come to be a staple of…
Small and medium-size churches can navigate the challenges of postmodern culture and the COVID-19 pandemic by capitalizing on inherent strengths, embracing the neighborhoods that surround them and by adopting scaled-down practices from megachurches, one of the nation’s leading religion researchers…
Three new research projects attempt to shed light on the nature of what American churchgoers hear in weekly sermons. The results are predictable, surprising and contradictory all at the same time. The largest of these surveys was undertaken by Pew…
Last week I tried to read Rick Pidcock’s post on the Thanksgiving Twitter war between complementarians and egalitarians, and I just had to quit. I will say more about Pidcock’s fine article below, but at the time I just couldn’t…
Several years ago, a mission team of laypersons preached the morning sermon at First Baptist Church of Abilene, Texas. They had just returned from completing medical and construction projects at a small Christian hospital in the mountains near Chihuahua, Mexico….
