“They stole $77,000. And that was all of my savings.” Her voice was so soft I (Doug) had to lean in to hear her. “I’ve talked with the local police, the FBI and the Federal Trade Commission. The money is...
In his classic book Night, the late Boston University professor Elie Wiesel described how the first warnings of what became the Holocaust found their way into his family’s village of Sighet, Transylvania, in 1942. The messenger was an “outsider” called…
Elephantine is an island opposite the city of Aswan in Egypt. In the late 1800s, 175 Jewish manuscripts found there began illegally appearing for purchase into Western collections. They are the oldest Jewish papyri found to date, going back to…
On Jan. 22, Tom Buck, pastor of First Baptist Church of Lindale, Texas, equated Vice President Kamala Harris with the biblical Jezebel. It was a strategic insult designed to terrorize and imbrute Harris. He joined Steve Swofford, pastor of First…
Religious groups campaigning to abolish the death penalty in Virginia got a glimpse of the promised land Feb. 3 when state senators approved a bill that will end capital punishment in the Commonwealth if the House follows suit on Feb….
I run an organization that partners with churches and ministers around the United States. In that capacity, I meet with groups of clergy, take calls and emails from clergy friends, and sit in ministry network Zoom meetings. I have noticed…
Please submit transitions — including staff changes, ordinations, anniversaries or deaths — to Barbara Francis. This page will be updated bi-weekly. STAFF CHANGES Moe Bomer, to First Baptist Church, Midland, Texas, as business administrator. Mark Copeland, to First Baptist Church, Plymouth,…
New things can create anxiety and, as a result, there is false information about the COVID-19 vaccine that is attempting to take root and prevent people from receiving protection from what we know is a deadly disease. Writing as a…
While much has been written during the COVID-19 pandemic about the “when and how” of churches opening their doors for worship, a new thread in the story is beginning to take shape: churches hosting vaccination clinics. Depending on the state…
Virginia’s coronavirus vaccine coordinator appealed to Baptist pastors to help model patience with the pace of inoculations and to help minimize skepticism around the growing scientific understanding of the virus and ways to prevent its spread. In a 45-minute Zoom…
From the Department of What’s Old is New Again: The Southern Baptist Convention’s ethics agency is being accused of liberalism and creating a distraction from the work of evangelism and missions. During the fundamentalist takeover of the SBC that began…
“Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, look around and take note! Search its squares and see if you can find one person who acts justly and seeks truth — so that I may pardon Jerusalem.” – Jeremiah 5:1 America’s…
Gregory Jones, a Methodist minister and dean of Duke Divinity School, has been named president of Belmont University, effective June 1. He will succeed long-time president Bob Fisher, who will retire in May. Under Fisher’s leadership, Belmont experienced rapid growth…
