Baptist News Global

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…

Learn to serve and lead where God takes you, T.D. Jakes advises

Serve and lead at the table where God places you, no matter your position or title. That’s the message I heard from T.D. Jakes during a recent interview. This was my fourth time to interview the pastor of The Potter’s…

In pandemic year 2, pastors finding help through mini-sabbaticals

It’s amazing what four weeks off can do for a minister after a year spent leading a church through a pandemic, said Leah Grundset Davis, pastor of Ravensworth Baptist Church near Washington, D.C. “I came back with more bandwidth, and…

Pastors, speak your truth while you still have time

“Make your peace with being honest in ministry today. Don’t wait until you’re older or find the ‘perfect’ church. If you aren’t honest today, you may never make it that far.” I was a youth minister when my pastor and…

Understanding Cuba and the United States through July 11 and Jan. 6

In this land where we’re supposed to have a free press, ensuring a range of perspectives on any given topic, I’m finding it hard to see any difference at all between various media outlets in their news coverage on Cuba….

Get ready for more claims of ‘religious exemptions’ to vaccine mandates

As children return to school and adults return to offices this fall amid a severe surge in coronavirus cases, expect to hear more talk about “religious exemptions” to vaccine requirements. Even before COVID-19, sincerely held religious beliefs have provided a…

Christians and climate change: A chance to take the Bible seriously

My wife might tell you that I seem more comfortable than most in staking out a confrontational, or even controversial, position and then defending it as if I were in a bare-knuckled brawl with my life at stake. It’s hard…

A cold and broken hallelujah: Learning from the Damaged David

In my seminary days, I was taught that a good sermon or Bible study begins with a provocative question. So, when Nancy and I became pastors 41 years ago, I introduced a Sunday school class with the story about David,…

BYKOTA people and COVID vaccines

Carolyn Weatherford Crumpler was a Baptist icon of her generation. For 15 years, she served as executive director of Woman’s Missionary Union, an auxiliary organization to the male-dominated Southern Baptist Convention. When she retired in 1989, she was tired of…

Does it need praying away?

Netflix recently debuted a documentary titled “Pray Away.” This film chronicles the rise and fall of Exodus International, an evangelical-based therapy group that claimed to be able to change the orientation of LGBTQ people. This type of therapy, commonly known…

Paxton dodges ethics questions while claiming Talarico isn’t Christian

Restored Voices Collective gets GRACE report on former board member

‘CatsOnACouch’ influencer sues over First Amendment rights

Court finds Trump and Blanche conspired to create sham IRS lawsuit