December 5, 2023 Dear Editor: I was troubled and offended by Andrew Gardner’s article “On the SBC, Alliance and CBF and Other Lost Causes.” It was clearly an opinion article and he is entitled to his opinion, but some of his opinions…
On the SBC, Alliance and CBF and lost causes
The histories we tell ourselves about our churches and denominations are important. They shape organizational identities and give greater meaning to the work churches and denominations conduct in the wider world. When those histories become deeply engrained, they can morph…
This church wanted an examination of its history, not just a coffee table book
The Olin T. Binkley Memorial Baptist Church didn’t want the typical chronicle or hagiography when it asked historian Andrew Gardner to write its congregational history. “And we didn’t want a coffee table book of nice pictures,” said Senior Minister Marcus…
Dig deeper when looking for your church’s racist or anti-racist history, Gardner advises
A church may have a racist past even if its archives reveal no evidence of support of slavery, Jim Crow, lynchings, segregation or other racist structures, author and historian Andrew Gardner said during a recent webinar hosted by the Alliance…
Teach Baptist history and Bible history to debunk Christian nationalism, historians say
Failure to teach Baptist history in Baptist churches has made congregants susceptible to Christian nationalism, according to Baptist historians from two generations. In Baptist churches today, the history of the movement is rarely mentioned or taught any more, and this…
With declining international student populations, what makes for a sustainable seminary?
There have been many unexpected consequences of the pandemic — from continued issues surrounding supply chains to a volatile housing market. International travel understandably has been limited, but this reduction in travel also has affected the number of international students…
Most comprehensive study yet of COVID’s impact on churches finds uneven results
The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the decline facing most congregations in America, but the effects are not evenly distributed among all churches, according to the most comprehensive study to date of the pandemic and congregational life. The “Exploring the Pandemic…
How does the period before the Civil War resemble our current social climate?
Taking lessons from history can be challenging. History is not static. It is not one thing, and historians are constantly revising and changing their interpretations and frameworks for thinking about the past. It may not be helpful to compare the…
Why there’s a challenging future ahead for Baptist seminaries and future faculty
In the next five to 10 years, moderate and progressive-leaning Baptist institutions of theological higher education are going to have to make some difficult decisions. Theological education generally has been struggling for quite some time. The high watermark of church…