Baptist News Global

‘Practicing Christians’ less likely to see race as problem than one year ago

Months of America’s so-called “racial reckoning” appear to have changed little in the perceptions of a majority of Christian worshipers, according to new data from Barna Research. Comparing attitudes from July 2019 to July 2020, Barna found that “practicing Christians”…

Most church records oddly silent on 1918 pandemic

The Spanish flu pandemic of 1918 was deadly but not altogether noteworthy to many Baptists, historians say. In fact, those who earn a living combing through denominational newspaper archives and associational records say they are astonished how little attention churches,…

It’s time to break the chains of slaveholder religion

I first came across the phrase “slaveholder religion” when I read the book by Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove titled Reconstructing the Gospel: Finding Freedom from Slaveholder Religion. The premise of the book is that America’s original sin of chattel slavery persists as…

The Gospel of Luke: Notes from the editor

Dear Luke, Your book is coming along nicely. The stories are great. My favorite is the worthless kid whose lenient father welcomes him home for no reason. That one makes you think. We love the introduction. Everyone adores babies. The shepherds…

Church leaders, here’s your new vocabulary word for 2020: ‘Liminal’

Susan Beaumont looks like a prescient genius right now. She wants you to know the actual situation is slightly different. One year ago this month, her latest book was published with the title How to Lead When You Don’t Know…

Pandemic opens the door to a far-flung notion of church membership

There’s nothing new about people attending church in their living rooms and kitchens. Since the earliest days of television, there has been a symbiotic relationship between preachers and viewers. But what once was a sometimes-dubious bond — with televangelists offering…

Instead of sending out more anxiety, here’s a way to send out love

It finally got to me. I had kept my nose above the water, for the most part. Washed my hands. Stayed at home. Did my part. But when I had that conversation with my parents, the anxiety hit me. My parents…

A message to white Christian America: Remember the church at Sardis

I recently finished reading White Too Long: The Legacy of White Supremacy in American Christianity, by Robert P. Jones, the CEO of Public Religion Research Institute. In that book, Jones comments about recent (2018 and 2019) public opinion survey responses from white…

BNG panelists offer diagnosis and prescriptions for mental health during pandemic

Inflamed racial tensions, a divisive election season and alarming climate events — all during a pandemic — have stretched American psychological well-being to the limit. But there also are some potential spiritual positives from the coronavirus era, according to five…

A primer for non-Methodists on the Methodist ties that bind

Divorce is never easy. Even in the most amicable partings, the division of assets causes more contention than any other irreconcilable differences. In the case of United Methodists, breaking up may be even harder to do because of the structural…

Christian advocacy puts words and actions together in following God

Words matter. They are how we frame our society, our relationships, our entire lives. They are a gift. Actions matter. They impact everyone and everything around us. They have the power to help or harm. The central question for Christians,…

‘Do you mean vote for the murder babies crowd?’

Last week I shared to Facebook a Washington Post story titled “White House directs federal agencies to cancel race-related training sessions it calls ‘un-American propaganda.’” I prefaced it with this: “At all levels of American society, we are confronted with…

How much is enough?

Robert Sloan, Baptist educator, dies at 77

What patriotism is not

Amid flurry of rulings, habeas corpus spells trouble for Trump immigration policies