Baptist News Global

Beth Moore and a lost Southern Baptist Convention

Religion News Service reporter Bob Smietana broke the story this week that famous Bible study leader Beth Moore is leaving the Southern Baptist Convention and ending the mutually lucrative publishing relationship with their Lifeway group. She claimed that the SBC…

One year later, letting go of ‘what used to be’

Yesterday was one year since COVID-19 was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. It’s a bit hard to put any words on e-paper today. Many of my public health and epidemiology friends are feeling the same way. It’s…

What does it mean to be a ‘good Christian’?

As a child, I learned that Christianity meant Jesus, that he was God, and that obedience was the Christian’s main duty. It made sense then, and it continues to make sense today. If we are passionate about something, that will…

Most churchgoers say they’ll return to in-person worship after COVID

The coronavirus outbreak has done little to weaken the devotion of more than 90% of American churchgoers who say they will return to in-person services in the wake of the pandemic, new research shows. In addition to anticipated church involvement,…

Top-down schism plans ignore local United Methodist churches’ new reality

The United Methodist Church staggers toward a twice-delayed global legislative conclave that appears likely to split the 12-million-member denomination. The options available to concerned United Methodists are multiplying at the highest levels, but church life differs greatly at the grassroots…

Beck Taylor named president of Samford University

Beck Taylor has been named the 19th president of Samford University and will succeed Andrew Westmoreland, who is retiring after 15 years at the helm. Samford trustees elected Taylor March 10 upon the recommendation of a 23-member presidential search committee…

Get ready for the COVID ‘anniversary effect’ this week

Outside my window, green shoots peek from the ground that was frozen just a couple of weeks ago. Warm air greets me like an old friend, and tree buds are biding their time until they explode open in pops of…

Baylor endows new academic chair in study of Black worship

Baylor University will create an endowed faculty position for the study of Black worship, with a gift from the Prichard Family Foundation and Ella Wall Prichard of Corpus Christi, Texas. The new Lev H. Prichard III Chair in the Study…

Longitudinal study of 50 clergy approaches the 10-year mark

Embracing and implementing intuitive and redemptive approaches to ministry is the goal of an ecumenical and national study that has tracked the faith and professional development of 50 ministers for a decade. Eileen Campbell-Reed and Christian Scharen, co-directors of the…

What makes a genuine apology?

When my daughters were playing a ton of soccer, we noticed something interesting: They and their teammates apologized a lot. They apologized to their own teammates after making an errant pass, they apologized to the opposing player after a physical play,…

As a woman called to ministry, my heart is broken, and the wound is very old

Two days after I learned that the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee formally voted to remove St. Matthews Baptist Church in Louisville, Ky., from denominational membership, my chest began to hurt. Right in my sternum, there was pain I can…

Next BNG webinar unpacks successful faith-based drive to end death penalty in Virginia

A look behind the scenes at how the faith community helped navigate passage of Virginia’s historic repeal of the death penalty will be the topic of Baptist News Global’s next free webinar. The March 29 webinar will feature a discussion…

Trump’s war on ‘woke’ targets federal grants and foreign relations

Reflections on In the Twilight of the Christian West

Why rural families need support now

Why do we keep sounding the alarm?