Baptist News Global

In a reversal of a current trend, a Baptist seminary creates a Methodist House of Studies

In an era when many non-Baptist seminaries are creating specific space for Baptist ministers in training, a Baptist seminary is creating space for Wesleyan minsters in training. Baylor University announced Nov. 18 the endowment of a new academic chair that…

What I learned when I got lifted up on high

At “dark thirty,” too early for a vacation morning, we waited in the chilly pre-dawn air just outside our cave hotel room in Cappadocia, Turkey. Long before the sunrise, a nondescript white van eventually would come to pick us up…

Some African immigrants see their hopes of a better life in the U.S. dashed by new immigration plan

Among the African community, mixed reactions have continued to trail debate in the United States Congress of the Build Back Better bill. The concern is about a lesser-noticed provision about immigration. Reports show that $100 billion is earmarked for immigration…

Remember, once there were multitudes of people who were willing to give themselves for something larger than themselves

“Never forget that the purpose for which we live is our improvement, so that we may go out of this world having, in a great sphere or a small one, done some little good for our fellow creatures and labored…

Biden administration rolls back Trump-era discrimination waivers in foster care

Civil rights and separation of church and state groups are thrilled, but conservative evangelicals are dismayed that the Biden administration announced Nov. 18 the reversal of a Trump-era policy that allowed discrimination against foster parents because of their sexual orientation….

Upton announces retirement from Virginia Baptist post after 20 transformative years

After two decades of leadership, John Upton has announced he intends to retire as executive director of the Baptist General Association of Virginia July 31, 2022. Since his election to the post in 2001, the landscape of Baptist state conventions…

‘Following the Star’ Advent devotionals begin Nov. 28

The free daily Advent and Christmastide devotionals produced by Passport will begin online Nov. 28. “Following the Star features Scripture, prayer and meditative thoughts accompanied by gentle music. This year’s writers are Paris Ball, Dave McNeely, Jon Brown, Holle Tubbs,…

Baptist-led petition drive urges U.S. Congress to stop stalling on crisis in Myanmar

Former Burmese refugee Van Lian Kio said he has been tormented by the flood of social media reports, news accounts and images of brutal military repression of fellow Baptists and other religious minorities in his native country, now known as…

International religious freedom group decries Biden administration letting Nigeria escape Countries of Particular Concern list

The nation’s top bipartisan watchdog for international religious freedom praised one addition by the U.S. State Department to its 2021 list of Countries of Particular Concern for religious freedom violations but expressed astonishment that another country was dropped from the…

The Way Down is about the weight of power being wielded by a hierarchical God

It was an overcast morning near Smyrna, Tenn., as a small Cessna private jet abruptly descended toward the earth. Seven people on board, who had been looking forward to a trip to Palm Beach, Fla., were now taking their final…

Baylor’s Black Gospel Archive and Listening Center now open to the public

Black Gospel music is a foundational ingredient in every popular music genre in America, and with the opening last week of Baylor University’s Black Gospel Archive and Listening Center, music that has long been accessible only to music scholars and…

Why I’m among the unchurched today

In his Nov. 9 analysis, “The Church Is Losing Its Way,” Rob Sellers outlines the numerous ways in which the church is failing. In addition to Sellers’ list (irrelevance, unchallenging, unaccepting, and, most interestingly, unChristlike), I would like to add…

Eradicating DEI hasn’t made anything better

How Christian nationalism shows up in patriotic worship services

Dear Trump-supporting Christians, are you really OK with this?

‘Every Student. Every State’ campaign promotes school tax credit