Baptist News Global

How the Constitution’s original religious freedom guarantee almost didn’t happen

On this day 234 years ago, the U.S. Constitution was signed and sent to the states for ratification, not only proposing a much-needed new system of government but also taking one of the first concrete steps to protect religious freedom….

Hayes named BNG Clemons Fellow

Amy Hayes of Atlanta has been named Baptist New Global’s third Clemons Fellow, continuing the launch of a graduate-level fellowship begun in June. Hayes is a master of divinity student at Mercer University’s McAfee School of Theology, where she also…

Tombstones or steppingstones?

On holiday in the southwest coastal and midlands regions of England, we visited the small village of Lyndhurst, still known as the capital of The New Forest, because William the Conqueror established the area as a royal hunting ground back…

‘What we must do, as young people, is to ensure we don’t carry forward the endemic fallacies’

The leadership of young people is crucial in helping the world recover from the economic, health and political devastation exposed during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to panelists with the Next Generation Task Force of the Parliament of the World’s Religions….

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…

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