Baptist News Global

Pandemic plans: Keep on coping

We have been battling COVID-19 for a year. 2020 already stands unique in the annals of our memories. And 2021 seems to continue the trend. Hospitals, schools, universities, churches, stores, restaurants … no destination or gathering place has been immune…

Learning to breathe in the Spirit by confessing, ‘I can’t breathe’

At various times in the biblical narrative, the Hebrew people gathered memorial stones in sacred spaces. These rock formations served as places of remembrance for all to see and be reminded of the power and transformative nature of God. May…

Does landmark religious freedom legislation need a fix or is it fine as is?

Does the landmark Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 need a legislative fix? Some Democratic Congressmen and religious freedom advocates believe so, which has prompted a renewed attempt to resolve problems they believe have been created by conservative court rulings…

How to follow a leader

We see many American citizens proclaiming an inseparable love of God and country right now. Although it has a new tenor, we have depended on this idea to justify our national actions in domestic and world wars, environmental disasters and…

Black Baptist women in ministry and the principality of patriarchy

As we march into Women’s History Month, I’ve been thinking about women in ministry, particularly Black Baptist women in ministry. This area is especially near and dear to me as my wife, Betty Wright-Riggins, is a woman in ministry. Betty…

Author of Eugene Peterson biography was one of many shaped by America’s pastor

Some of Winn Collier’s most cherished moments with the late Eugene Peterson include sitting quietly with the pastor, author and translator of The Message Bible in his Montana home overlooking Flathead Lake and the Mission Mountains in the distance. “When…

Transitions for the week of 3-5-21

Please submit transitions — including staff changes, ordinations, anniversaries or deaths — to Barbara Francis. This page will be updated bi-weekly. STAFF CHANGES Wade Allen, to United Church of Canandaigua, N.Y., as pastor. He comes from the pastorate of First Baptist…

Evangelicals are in trouble: Reclaiming ‘Oberlinism” could bring some redemption

Evangelicals are in trouble in the land of the free and the home of the Trump golden statue, that 6-foot sculpture that debuted at the recent Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando. Watching the iconic ministrations surrounding it, I wondered…

U.S. agency calls for more religious freedom in Nigeria

Less than three months after being designated a Country of Particular Concern by the U.S. State Department over its religious record, Nigeria has again became the focus of another U.S. agency — the Commission on International Religious Freedom. A virtual…

Repressing my sexual orientation cost me my health — permanently

I can’t remember what it feels like to not be in pain. It’s been years since I’ve had the energy of a healthy person. The litany of physical symptoms that rage war in my body daily are a result of…

World religious leaders remember Shahbaz Bhatti as martyr 10 years later

World religious leaders, policymakers and human rights activists gathered virtually March 2 to mark the 10-year anniversary of the assassination of Shahbaz Bhatti, the Pakistani Christian politician targeted by the Taliban for championing religious freedom. His killers never were prosecuted….

How I learned to care about social justice growing up Southern Baptist in Oklahoma

“How did you come to have a passion for social justice issues?” That was one of the questions put to me this week when the tables got turned and I was the interviewee instead of the interviewer. The answer immediately…

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