Baptist News Global

Understand the humanity of the Dreamers, DACA recipient urges

Wanting secure borders and other controls shouldn’t require Americans to judge immigrants harshly or use denigrating language to label them, a DACA recipient said during a national immigration forum Aug. 11. “Even if people … can’t understand immigrants or why…

When will the church say of abuse, ‘It doesn’t have to be this way’?

“It does not have to be this way.” I am anxiously awaiting my faith community as a whole to say this for women. To say that being abused and harassed as a pastor or layperson can be addressed and not…

CBF General Assembly moves to online-only format as COVID cases climb

The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s attempt to plan a hybrid General Assembly in late August has fallen victim to the resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic across America. What had been planned as a virtual gathering with three regional in-person options now…

What’s wrong with ‘Left Behind’?

One of the biggest lies perpetuated in modern American Christianity is about the end times. Just by paying attention to popular culture and conversation, you would assume that the “Left Behind” theology is the most accepted — and maybe the…

Yes, churches survived the first year of the pandemic, but overall giving continues to decline and adaptation is needed

Congregations must reimagine ministries, repurpose facilities and reinvent donor appeals if churches are to survive the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic and the continuing decline of religion in the 21st century. That was the advice offered by two panelists in…

Transitions for the week of 8-13-21

Please submit transitions — including staff changes, ordinations, anniversaries or deaths — to Barbara Francis. This page will be updated bi-weekly. STAFF CHANGES Peggy Arbogast, to Mill Creek Baptist Church, Fincastle, Va., as director of children’s ministry. Ethan Asters, to Southside…

Impressions while worshiping in God’s cathedral

While I sat in an old oak grove early Sunday morning, a time in my life replayed, bringing memories of working with consultants to raise funds for building churches. My thoughts drifted back to the 1980s when seven area congregations…

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…

Learning to sit with generational grief

I sat in bed staring at my laptop, the dozens of Google tabs detailing the journey I’d been on. Books were buried in my comforter, creating a type of literary war zone. My ojeras (the bags under my eyes) decorated…

How a Nigerian church’s ambitious goal raised questions about its business model and the faith industry

In February last year, David Oyedepo announced that his Nigerian-based church was going to establish 10,000 new branches in Nigeria. Such a gigantic goal raised more than a few eyebrows. Living Faith Church Worldwide, also known as Winners’ Chapel International,…

With a school voucher case already teed up at the Supreme Court, Florida adds a twist under the cover of COVID

The political fight over COVID-19 restrictions now has found its way into the debate over taxpayer funded vouchers for private religious schools. ABC News reported Aug. 6 that the Florida State Board of Education will offer private school vouchers to…

Is there a balm in singing the spirituals, and if so, who should sing them?

In the heart of the Bloomfield neighborhood in Macon, Ga., our Baptist church and school served as the place where 300 white people came every Sunday for church and throughout the week for school. On Sunday, we had a bus…

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