In this politically fraught time, communities of faith have a unique opportunity to speak truth into the chaos. This necessarily means addressing the religious nationalism that burst from the shadows into public view on January 6, 2021. Regardless the outcome…
Proposed bill to help welcome asylum seekers hailed by human rights groups
Human rights groups are lining up in support of new legislation designed to help states and cities welcome asylum seekers and refugees into local communities. The Destination Reception Assistance Act, introduced in Congress July 30, seeks to expand the federal…
One week later, CBF meeting is the antithesis of the SBC meeting
One week after the Southern Baptist Convention made national headlines for a variety of its actions, a smaller Baptist group will meet for its annual General Assembly that’s not likely to make headlines anywhere but here at BNG. And that’s…
On the SBC, Alliance and CBF and lost causes
The histories we tell ourselves about our churches and denominations are important. They shape organizational identities and give greater meaning to the work churches and denominations conduct in the wider world. When those histories become deeply engrained, they can morph…
Great Rivers Fellowship names Caldwell, McNary as first staff leaders
Great Rivers Fellowship, a new Cooperative Baptist Fellowship regional organization formed by the merger of CBF units in Arkansas, Louisiana and Mississippi, has elected its first staff leaders. Mississippi native Brittany Caldwell, a program coordinator and pastor who most recently…
News flash: Not all Baptists are Southern
Southern Baptists make up less than half of all Baptists in the United States. But you’d never guess that from media coverage. Last month, Baptist leaders from dozens of nations gathered in Birmingham, Ala., for the first in-person meeting of…
Baptist Seminary of Kentucky seeks a new name
One of the new seminaries that emerged from the late 20th century schism in the Southern Baptist Convention plans to rename itself. Baptist Seminary of Kentucky, which opened classes just 20 years ago, seeks public input for this renaming. BSK…
Baptist groups returning to in-person meetings with hybrid options
The Baptist World Alliance has announced its 2022 annual gathering will be convened both online and in-person after two years of virtual-only meetings due to the COVID-19 pandemic. And BWA isn’t alone. The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and Alliance of Baptists…
D.C. Baptist Convention installs Manarin, first female executive director in 145-year history
The District of Columbia Baptist Convention installed Trisha Miller Manarin as its executive director/minister — the first female to hold the job in the convention’s 145-year history — this fall. Manarin has held the position since August 2020, but the…