Patriarchy, gender inequality and white Christian nationalism present a threat to individuals, churches and culture that must be countered, a panel of female Baptist leaders said during the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship General Assembly in Greensboro, N.C., June 21. Panelists Anyra…
Missouri church confesses and laments its past ties to slavery
The congregation at First Baptist Church in Columbia, Mo., recently held a worship service devoted to confessing and lamenting the church’s historical connection to slavery. The October service was part a year-long observance of the church’s bicentennial, which will be…
I’m a pastoral resident, and my senior pastor is leaving
I assumed I misheard her due to the loud A/C unit in my office. “What?” “I’m being called to another church, Caleb.” As the fall air finally cools down a scorching Midwest summer, I still wonder if this memory is…
Practicing advocacy from the pulpit can be a ‘fiery furnace’ experience, panelists tell CBF
Practicing advocacy in the pulpit can be like walking through a “fiery furnace,” five pastors noted during the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship General Assembly in Atlanta June 29. Cheryl Moore Adamson of Palmetto Missionary Baptist Church in Conway, S.C.; Jesús Garcia…
Why I’m investing my inheritance in women in ministry
Eleven years ago, when I became senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Columbia, Mo., my cousin wrote on my Facebook page, “You have shamed our family.” I wasn’t really surprised by her reaction. After all, my extended family was…
Former staff at Knoxville church see a familiar pattern in Northern Seminary’s complaints about Shiell’s leadership
When former staff members at First Baptist Church of Knoxville, Tenn., read accounts of how faculty and staff at Northern Seminary said they had been mistreated by President Bill Shiell, they recognized a cautionary tale they wish all congregations and…
Leaving church, part 4: The coming clergy shortage
Baptist churches may soon face clergy shortages like other faith traditions. Emily Brown, in a February 2022 Relevant article, “The Great American Clergy Shortage is Coming,” noted: “Roughly 3,544 Catholic parishes in the U.S. lack a parish priest,” and “in…
Leaving church, part 3: ‘Opposition to leadership’
In the face of opposition to leadership, successful leaders never give up or walk away. At least, that is what leadership experts tell us. Instead, these experts suggest persistence and dogged determination as appropriate responses to opposition. This viewpoint is…
Leaving church, part 2: The Great Baptist Resignations and COVID
The recent surge of COVID cases led one of my (Carol) pastoral colleagues to lament, “It feels like we are living a terrible version of the film Ground Hog Day.” In Columbia, Mo., where I live, we have more COVID…