Baptists rank high in a dozen faith leaders to watch in 2017 identified by the Center for American Progress, a progressive public policy research and advocacy organization founded in 2003 as an alternative to conservative think tanks such as the…
With 1 ‘none’ and a slew of Christians, Congress fails to reflect society
Church consultants and researchers for years have warned churches that they need to reflect the communities around them. Thom Rainer, president of LifeWay Christian Resources, said he discovered that while conducting research for his book Autopsy of a Deceased Church….
The Baptist World Alliance: Truly global?
It takes increased finances for the Global South to participate in the global Baptist family. Adequate finances are often beyond its current capacity.
Baptists among religious groups facing severe limits under Russian laws
Missionaries and others who evangelize in Russia now face severe restrictions on those activities since President Vladimir Putin approved sweeping new anti-terrorism laws.
Baptist-Muslim scholar swap produces dialogue on Jesus, the Trinity and religious violence
A scholar swap between a Baptist seminary in Georgia and an Islamic university in India uncovered a mirror image of mistrust and confusion between Christians and Muslims in both countries. The professors — Loyd Allen of Mercer University’s McAfee School of…
Baptist founder still speaking after 400 years, says European leader
The message of Thomas Helwys — a founder of the Baptist denomination and one of the first Englishmen to state explicitly that people of any religion should be free to exercise their faith without government interference — is as relevant today…
Churches need to be less concerned about labels, more about being faithful
When we announced to the first church we served, in South Carolina, that we were moving to Alabama, someone came up right after church and said, “Here’s the question if you’re moving to Birmingham: Are you gonna say, ‘Roll Tide’…
As U.S. holds world record for imprisonment, churches increase prison ministries
The United States locks up more people in prison — in raw numbers and in percentage of the population — than any other nation in the world. More than 2 million people are incarcerated in federal, state and county jails,…
From slums and drugs to faith and hope: a young man’s journey
The neighborhood around the Baptist Children’s Center in Nairobi, Kenya, can best be described with one word: slum. For Ben Oscar, the word he used to describe it was “home.” As a 6-year-old in the early ’90s, Oscar lived on…