By Bob Allen The South Carolina Baptist Convention has written a letter asking First Baptist Church of Greenville to either recant its recent decision to include gays in all areas of church life or withdraw from the 2,000-church state affiliate…
Churches must be creative to meet coming ‘Boomer wave’
By Jeff Brumley Congregational coaches are warning churches against becoming so fixated on Millennials and other young people that they ignore the surging population of Baby Boomers already in their midst. But those experts say most congregations simply aren’t ready…
Al Mohler, Franklin Graham, criticize FBC Greenville’s affirmation of gays
By Bob Allen The president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s flagship seminary said Aug. 18 he is not surprised by news that the school’s mother church has taken a stance of affirming homosexuality. Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological…
Historic Baptist church adopts gay non-discrimination policy
By Bob Allen A historic church formerly affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention is making headlines with a “discernment” process about how to relate to the LGBTQ community. In early May members of First Baptist Church in Greenville, S.C., approved…
Pastor greeted with bombing on first day in N.M. church
By Jeff Brumley One of two churches bombed in Las Cruces, N.M., on Sunday included one with a brand new pastor from a Baptist congregation in Missouri. Kevin Glenn also is an expert and author on the subject of restoring…
Youth pastor’s arrest affects two churches
By Bob Allen Two prominent Southern Baptist churches in Oklahoma are cooperating with police after the arrest of a youth pastor charged with sending inappropriate text messages to four boys at his former congregation. Police in Shawnee, Okla., arrested Brian…
Young adults challenging traditional church membership concepts
By Jeff Brumley The value and purpose of church membership is becoming an increasingly hot topic in Baptist and other congregations these days. And that’s “hot” as in controversial and heated, not popular. And it’s one that occasionally pits older…
Adopting schools is about community building, not proselytizing, educators say
By Vicki Brown The pastor of the Baptist church in the small rural community saunters down the hallway in a public school toward the cafeteria, greeting students by name as he goes. Once through the lunch line, he nabs a…
For these Baptists, VBS transforms congregations and communities
By Jeff Brumley and Olivia Williams Two Waco, Texas, Baptist congregations learned firsthand this summer that vacation Bible school can be a catalyst for bringing down cultural and racial barriers in a community. That lesson puts them in the company of…