A Southern Baptist state convention is considering kicking out cooperating churches that are also aligned with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.
Hurricane Harvey brings out the missional in Cambodian Baptist church
Refugees are usually depicted as people in great need. And that’s understandable since most have escaped war and famine with little more than the shirts on their backs. But the devastation brought by Hurricane Harvey has enabled a church in…
Marginalized are harder to see ― and help ― in tourist towns, ministers say
As just about anyone who works regularly among at-risk populations knows, the disenfranchised are swept under the social rug regardless of what city they are in. But poverty, hunger and other ills can be harder to spot in recreational get-aways.
Bucking anti-refugee attitudes, small N.C. church opens ‘welcome house’
Refugees are increasingly unwelcome in many places around the world. But anti-refugee hostility wasn’t the challenge a North Carolina Baptist congregation faced in opening a refugee house on its Raleigh property this year.
Former moderators sign petition urging repeal of CBF hiring ban
Twelve former moderators of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship are among more than 500 names attached to an online petition urging current leaders to drop the organization’s 17-year-old ban against hiring LGBT people. The petition — delivered this week to a…
Longer church commutes OK with Christians wary of ‘evangelical gimmicks’
Most churchgoers — almost 70 percent, according to new research — drive 15 minutes or less to get to Sunday worship. That does not describe Todd and Marcia Putney of Macclenny, a rural community located along Interstate-10 in Northeast Florida. The Putneys —…
Harvey, Irma cleanup poses challenges for faith-based recovery
Faith-based disaster response groups are admittedly feeling the major challenge faced in the aftermath of hurricanes Harvey and Irma. “There’s a lot of chaos out there,” said David Harding, international disaster response coordinator for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. Devastation in…
First Harvey, then Irma: Is there enough help to go around?
Hurricane Harvey drowns parts of Texas and Irma follows by drenching all of Florida. Are there enough rescuers, volunteers, trucks and helicopters to respond? Experience shows that there will be. But when it comes to financial contributions — that may be a different story.
Young immigrants nervous about Trump’s DACA decision/indecision
Yerendi Roblero was 6 months old when her parents took the family across the U.S. border from their native Mexico. “I pretty much grew up here, ” said Roblero, 21, of Fredericksburg, Va. It’s why the threat to end special protections for undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. since childhood concerns her and many others.