While racial progress has been made in some aspects of U.S. life, racial divisions will not be bridged if the country’s large racial wealth gap persists, a Baptist pastor and college president told an interfaith conference on race. At the…
Racism-induced trauma creates hopelessness in Black communities, scholars say
As he consults with Black congregations, Black church scholar Lewis Brogdon often advises them to prioritize adding a mental health professional to their staffs. That’s because Brogdon, director of the Institute for Black Church Studies at Baptist Seminary of Kentucky,…
White supremacy permeates U.S. life, scholar says
The issue of white supremacy in the United States is not confined to people of the past who spewed racial hatred, researcher and author Robert P. Jones told a Baptist gathering in Kentucky. “When most white people hear the word…
Erica Whitaker named associate director of BSK’s Institute for Black Church Studies
Erica Whitaker has been named associate director of Baptist Seminary of Kentucky’s Institute for Black Church Studies, where she will work alongside Lewis Brogdon, who became the institute’s first director earlier this year. Whitaker, pastor of Buechel Park Baptist Church…
We will continue to teach Critical Race Theory
Our schools will continue to discuss ideas such as Critical Race Theory, and we will continue to have difficult conversations about how slavery, Jim Crow (a term coined in Louisville), and the constructed notion of white superiority shaped our history…
Kentucky scholar warns the U.S. risks ‘losing its soul’ through hatred
The United States needs a “movement of heart and spirit” to address a moral crisis that places the country in danger of “losing its soul,” warned the leader of a seminary institute dedicated to Black church studies. In an opinion…
The State of the Union felt like an old-fashioned revival to me
Long ago, my fourth grade teacher warned me: “Jordan, if you want to be a preacher some day you have to give up on politics. Religion and politics just don’t mix.” I always was a good student, but maybe not…
The charismatic story is part of the Baptist story, historian contends
While never gaining widespread acceptance in Baptist circles, the Holiness, Pentecostal and charismatic traditions have interacted with Baptists “more than we have imagined,” observed Baptist historian Doug Weaver. “Baptists have been involved in both sides of the charismatic story —…
Kentucky seminary receives Baugh Foundation grant to start Institute for Black Church Studies
Supported by a $750,000 multi-year grant from the Eula Mae and John Baugh Foundation, Baptist Seminary of Kentucky will launch the Institute for Black Church Studies in Louisville, Ky., this fall. The institute will offer continuing education for Black church leaders and a…