Baptist News Global

United Methodists chafe at their wilderness wandering

Some have likened the current time in the United Methodist Church to the biblical exodus of Hebrew slaves from Egypt. Others have found a parallel in the Israelites’ exile in Babylon. Still others see the UMC living through the same…

Looking for a religious exemption to a COVID vaccine mandate? Most denominations won’t help you

Unless you’re a member of a Dutch Reformed church or a Christian Science church, making a claim for a religious exemption to the COVID-19 vaccine as a Christian is going to be hard to prove. According to research by Vanderbilt…

Transitions for the week of 9-17-21

Please submit transitions — including staff changes, ordinations, anniversaries or deaths — to Barbara Francis. This page will be updated bi-weekly. STAFF CHANGES Josh Anderson, to Summit Church, Boise, Idaho, as youth pastor. Gwyn Bacon, to First Baptist Church, Athens, Ga.,…

Jesus, not the Bible, is ‘the Word of God’

Like many Christians, I strive to read the Bible every day. However, I admit frequent failures and that I’m not as diligent as in times past. I remember the first time I set out to read the entire book from…

Trump’s faith advisory team is coming back … maybe

‘Israel has never had a better friend, and yet I got 25% of the vote.” The former president joined an online meeting of supporters from the faith community Sept. 2 to launch his National Faith Advisory Board, but two weeks…

87 steps toward becoming an ideal team player on the quest for social justice

One of the most insightful books on business management and human resources that I’ve read in the last five years is Patrick Lencioni’s The Ideal Team Player: How to Recognize and Cultivate the Three Essential Virtues. Lencioni makes compelling arguments…

Carey Nieuwhof: Reflections on the wilderness, COVID, burnout and how to move forward

As American churches wander in “the wilderness,” pastor and thought leader Carey Nieuwhof is reckoning with his own burnout. He processes these challenges out loud in his new book, At Your Best. Nieuwhof is founding pastor of Connexus Church in…

To Whom It May Concern: I am writing this recommendation letter …

Every once in a while, I get an email from someone whose church has decided God is calling their minister somewhere else. My former student has taken the hint and needs a recommendation letter. Most of his seminary professors do…

Lost amid other news: Number of migrants being held in U.S. detention centers has decreased

The number of migrants being held in U.S. civil immigration detention centers has stabilized after many weeks of growth and remains well below pre-pandemic and Trump administration levels, according to researchers at Syracuse University. “The most recent numbers show that…

COVID wars: Lament over a broken, divided nation

I was talking with a senior Mercer University colleague yesterday about the divisions engulfing our nation over COVID vaccines and masks. Carl has served as a pastor, professor and politician. He’s a very wise man. I said: “Carl, two years…

Erica Whitaker named associate director of BSK’s Institute for Black Church Studies

Erica Whitaker has been named associate director of Baptist Seminary of Kentucky’s Institute for Black Church Studies, where she will work alongside Lewis Brogdon, who became the institute’s first director earlier this year. Whitaker, pastor of Buechel Park Baptist Church…

Elijah Zehyoue named co-director of Alliance of Baptists

The Alliance of Baptists has called Elijah Zehyoue as co-director, following the retirement of Paula Clayton Dempsey, director of partnership relations. The Washington, D.C., pastor and former BNG columnist will begin work Oct. 15, upon Dempsey’s retirement. In the Alliance’s…

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