Note: This story was updated Oct. 29 with additional comments from church leaders. One of the most prominent Baptist churches in Texas quietly quit the Southern Baptist Convention Oct. 27 — part of an unnoticed trend that’s hard to…
CBF receives $1.25 million grant to nurture children
The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship has received a $1.25-million grant from the Lilly Endowment for an initiative on inclusive children’s ministry. The grant will equip churches to be safe places inclusive of children — especially children with disabilities — and to use creative…
Sudden personnel change raises concerns in Great Rivers Fellowship
A personnel change said to have been necessitated by financial strains has caused a rift in a relatively new regional body of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. At least two churches affiliated with Great Rivers Fellowship have written formal letters of…
In Helene’s path, churches swing into action with relief ministries
People and institutions of faith from Florida to North Carolina are kicking into high gear to help the victims of Hurricane Helene even as they struggle assessing the human need and the scope of physical damage. Even in the most…
New podcast episode explores right-left shift of SBC and CBF
A new episode of BNG’s podcast series “Stuck in the Middle with You” published Aug. 29 focuses on the widening rift between the Southern Baptist Convention and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. BNG Executive Director Mark Wingfield, speaking with cohost Benjamin…
New BNG podcast puts Wingfield and Cole in conversation about the SBC
Baptist News Global Executive Director Mark Wingfield and blogger Benjamin Cole don’t see eye-to-eye on everything in Baptist life, but they do agree their respective denominations have drifted further apart than ever before. In the inaugural episode of the “Stuck…
Kentucky seminary changes its name
Baptist Seminary of Kentucky begins the new academic year with a new name that will ring slightly familiar. The Lexington, Ky.-based school now is known as BSK Theological Seminary. Seminary trustees approved the change after two years of discussions involving…
Do I belong here? A first timer reflects on the CBF General Assembly
As a first timer to the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship General Assembly, I was new to name tag ribbons. After checking in, I paused with my name tag at the table strewn with colors, examining the various identities like “Chaplain,” “El Familia” and…
Don’t stop believing, Thompson urges Trailblazer luncheon
Christians involved in the struggle for racial justice must maintain a robust capacity for belief even when major resistance and setbacks are encountered, said Jacqueline A. Thompson, senior pastor at Allen Temple Baptist Church in Oakland, Calif. “Researchers say that…