Baptist News Global

‘Frederick Buechner, meet Mary Lou Wells’

Frederick Buechner famously defined vocation when he wrote, “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.” He explained, “The kind of work God usually calls you to is the…

The church and a future worth fighting for

Martin Luther King Jr. famously remarked that 11 a.m. on Sunday was the “most segregated hour in America,” This has been an enduring truth, and the reasons for it are both noble and ignoble. Sunday morning became the most segregated…

Blind guy travels … and sings, and plays accordion, and makes Legos more accessible to the visually impaired

Ask Matthew Shifrin about the one thing he won’t do, and his answer is simple: Live alone. That’s because Shifrin is blind. “Things like living on my own — can it be done? Absolutely,” he said. “But does that mean…

‘No, Beth Moore, I will not take your phone away’

It has been four months since Beth Moore publicly cut ties with the Southern Baptist Convention. Since that time, Moore has oscillated between prophetic and apologetic as she hones her new post-SBC voice. One moment she’s publicly calling out “hyper-complementarianism”…

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…

Disputes between bishops and dissidents roil United Methodists

Some 13 months before the United Methodist Church’s top legislative body, the General Conference, decides whether to break up the worldwide denomination, pitched battles are taking place between church authorities and dissident congregations and groups at both ends of the…

Not all churches are back to indoor or in-person worship, and those that are have some questions

While many American churches have returned to in-person gatherings since — or even before — COVID-19 vaccines became widely available earlier this year, others have chosen a slower, more cautious route through the pandemic and are learning some hard lessons…

How our family is celebrating Christmas in July

Christmas is a mere six months away. Many churches, like my first church in West Jefferson, N.C., where I was an associate pastor, have Christmas in July celebrations and festivities that often coincide with the community’s own festival to prepare…

Repeating Exodus through vaccine denial

At the beginning of Donald Trump’s presidency, I wrote a post warning that he was a threat to the United States and the rest of the world. We are about to see matters turn from bad to worse. Thanks to…

From purity pledges to the Equality Act: How evangelical concern about sex has shifted and what it has to do with creation

When more than 200,000 evangelical purity pledges were being planted at the National Mall in 1994 at the height of the True Love Waits movement, nobody would have imagined that the next 25 years would bring about a total revolution…

Does the church in America need a new Barmen Declaration?

It is not the first time this question has been raised, but I ponder it here: Does the church in America need a new Barmen Declaration? In late May 1934, the Pastors’ Emergency League met in Barmen, Germany. Dietrich Bonhoeffer…

Why I’m leaving my church: A theology of death

I’m a gun owner and a recreational sportsman. I used to believe in the NRA hype about “good guys with guns” being the heroes America needs and being crucial as protectors of the innocent. Over the past several years, my…

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