Baptist News Global

Hurricane season has ended (yay) but the poor aren’t cheering

The 2018 hurricane season, which officially ends today, unleashed yet another barrage of terrifying and destructive weather that left huge swaths of the nation soaked, flattened – or both. And as usual, it is those with the fewest resources who have been left with the biggest obstacles to overcome.

A millennial martyr? The complicated legacy of John Allen Chau

Courageous martyr, colonial aggressor, neither or both? The recent death of John Allen Chau, a 26-year-old American missionary killed while trying to preach the gospel to a remote tribe in India, has ignited a debate about the wisdom of – or even the need for – evangelizing indigenous peoples ignorant of or hostile to Christianity.

50 years after his death, Thomas Merton’s words haunt us yet.

What draws us back to Merton 50 years after his death is his haunting ability to unite the transcendent and the worldly, the inner and outer life with wondrous prose, occasional poetry and enduring spiritual insight.

Transitions for the week of 11-30-18

Please submit transitions — including staff changes, ordinations, anniversaries or deaths — to Barbara Francis. This page will be updated weekly. STAFF CHANGES Tim Boone, to First Baptist Church, Knoxville, Tenn., as interim minister for congregational life. Tracie Quarles Daniels,…

The decision to close BTSR was gut-wrenching. It was also necessary.

Despite the concerted and often sacrificial efforts of the president, the trustees and others in the seminary community, BTSR in the final analysis was simply unable to reach the critical mass of students necessary to be sustainable. Enrollment had been declining for years, and minimal upticks were not enough to justify the cost per student.

Southern Baptist agency warns ‘eugenics is real’ in Supreme Court brief about Down syndrome and abortion

The Southern Baptist Convention’s public-policy arm is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold a state’s right to outlaw abortions involving a fetus with Down syndrome.

Baptist theologian embarking on new mission field – interfaith work

Loving your neighbor as yourself is not just about loving your Christian neighbor as yourself, says Robert Sellers, outgoing chairman of the Parliament of the World’s Religions.

American exorcism

Priests are fielding more requests than ever for help with demonic possession, and a centuries-old practice is finding new footing in the modern world.

My evangelical church is gaslighting me, but I refuse to fall for it anymore

The church that warned me against moral relativism now calls me a heretic when I apply the very principles they taught me to real situations, with real stakes for real people.

In the #MeToo era, theologians publish ‘Women’s Bible’

Tired of seeing their holy texts used to justify the subjugation of women, a group of feminist theologians from across the Protestant-Catholic divide have joined forces to draft “A Women’s Bible”.

Survey says teetotalers slowly losing ground in Protestant churches

About one third of Baptists admit to drinking alcohol, according to a LifeWay Research report released Nov. 27. Earlier this month Baptist Press published an article asking whether consensus might be shifting away from the teetotaling message preached by Southern…

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…

Eradicating DEI hasn’t made anything better

How Christian nationalism shows up in patriotic worship services

Dear Trump-supporting Christians, are you really OK with this?

‘Every Student. Every State’ campaign promotes school tax credit