A quarter of a century ago I moved to South Carolina in response to the call of the largest Baptist body in that state. Baptists of various tribes in South Carolina lacked a commitment to starting new congregations. I was…
Loch Ness Found in Classrooms
Seeing isn’t believing; believing is seeing—at least when it comes to the Loch Ness Monster. As it turns out, students in private Christian schools across Louisiana use textbooks that claim the monster was a dinosaur that existed at the same…
BWA annual gathering is about relationships
On Saturday I left for Santiago, Chile to attend the Annual Gathering of the Baptist World Alliance. I look forward to seeing current friends and making new friends from throughout the world. Periodically I am asked by a Baptist in…
CBF enters year of transition
FORTH WORTH, Texas—The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship looks forward to an “in-between year” characterized by implementation of a new identity statement and a search for a successor to retiring CBF Executive Coordinator Daniel Vestal, the group’s incoming moderator said June. 22….
“The Blind Side” gets blindsided
Baptist news wires carried the story recently about a successful protest by a Baptist preacher to remove a movie from LifeWay stores. The movie is “The Blind Side,” starring Sandra Bullock. It was based on the book by the same…
Christians need to formulate embodied theology, speaker asserts
ATLANTA—Varied views on the human body in the Bible and church tradition shape modern Christians’ attitudes about sexuality, ethicist Melissa Browning told a [Baptist] Conference on Sexuality and Covenant. Christians need to formulate “an embodied theology … that is rooted…
Look beyond denominational subculture, Baylor professor urges sexuality conference
ATLANTA—Contemporary ethical debates about sexuality cannot be separated from questions about the nature of the church and whether Christians will be shaped more by covenant community or by culture, a lecturer in Baylor University’s Great Texts program told participants at…
Focus on Jesus, interpret the Bible with humility, N.C. pastor tells sexuality conference
ATLANTA—Christians who want to hear God’s voice—particularly when it comes to difficult issues regarding sexuality—need to approach the Scriptures with humility and a desire to know the heart and mind of Christ, speakers told participants at a [Baptist] Conference on…
NBC initiative is valuable but more to be done, says Philadelphia organizer
PHILADELPHIA — Initiatives such at the New Baptist Covenant II help lower racial barriers, but there is “still a lot of work to do,” said a south Philadelphia pastor who helped organize a satellite viewing of the three-day event. “I’ve…