Baptist News Global

Transitions for the week of 3-19-21

Please submit transitions — including staff changes, ordinations, anniversaries or deaths — to Barbara Francis. This page will be updated bi-weekly. STAFF CHANGES Megan Turner Doud, to Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Georgia, as coordinator of young Baptist ministries. She comes from…

Terrorist group in Mozambique accused of beheading children

Islamic militants in Mozambique are committing gruesome acts of terror against children, according to Save the Children UK. The international relief agency reports that children as young as 11 have been apprehended and beheaded by militants in the Mozambique province…

To heal racism, seek atonement before reconciliation, authors say

White Christians must seek atonement before reconciliation if the wounds of racism are to be healed, two religion scholars said during a March 16 webinar on evangelicalism and race in America. “You can’t have change until you have had true…

As unaccompanied children surge across the border again, Baptist ministries retool

A massive facility for immigrant children run by a Baptist-affiliated nonprofit has been reopened after sitting dormant for 20 months. The Carrizo Springs Influx Care Facility in Carrizo Springs, Texas, is operated by BCFS, formerly known as Baptist Child and…

Voting rights and the people who died for them: Jonathan Daniels et al.

A March 11 article in the Washington Post began with these two paragraphs: “The GOP’s national push to enact hundreds of new election restrictions could strain every available method of voting for tens of millions of Americans, potentially amounting to…

For 35 years, this couple has served high-risk and incarcerated youth

Hanne and Scott Larson have spent nearly 35 years serving high-risk and incarcerated youth with Bible studies, re-entry, job readiness and other programs now operative in 40 states and 35 nations. To date, about 75,000 young people have been assisted….

How I learned to stop making excuses for the men in my world

There he was, 10 feet in front of me in broad daylight. There was no mistaking him for someone else. To my advantage, I spotted him from behind the tinted windows of my car, where he couldn’t see me, yet…

Vatican makes clear that Catholic churches might welcome LGBTQ Christians but cannot bless their unions

Pope Francis signaled a bit of welcome for LGBTQ Christians in October, but the Vatican made clear March 15 that the Catholic Church will not bless same-sex unions, which it considers to be a sinful “choice.” While the pope is the…

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…

Moving churches from risk management to risk-taking

On this one-year anniversary of the start of the COVID pandemic, it seems appropriate to take stock and assess the American church. For many of us, the year has been the challenge of a lifetime in ministry leadership. The obstacles…

Seven recommendations this hospital chaplain wishes patients and loved ones knew before a hospital admission

As a hospital chaplain, I’ve walked with many patients and families through the illness and even death associated with COVID-19. Because of the pandemic, every hospital admission is different today than it was a year ago. Out of this experience,…

The Deconstructionist Playbook offers devotionals for those wary of the church

A new devotional anthology seeks to shepherd readers through religious doubts and toxic church teachings by showing that inclusive, non-judgmental ways of being Christian do exist. “We want Christianity to be a practice that we enjoy and that doesn’t inflict…

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