By Bob Allen The fiancée of the first man to die of Ebola in the United States says the tragic story of love, war and quarantine was too complicated for a newspaper story or TV news segment to fully tell,…
How Long, O Lord?
“How Long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?” the Psalmist asks. African Americans ask this question in the wake of the murder of nine Christians at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina during a Wednesday…
A quarter-century after the SBC holy war
This past week marked the 25th anniversary of the final battle in the Southern Baptist holy war. The former combatants noted the occasion appropriately: They got on with current business. The Southern Baptist Convention conducted its annual meeting in Columbus,…
‘Soul lockdown’ afflicts nation, inspires tragedies like S.C. church shooting, activist says
By Jeff Brumley The Charleston church massacre is not a problem of gun violence or even of racism. Rather, it uncovers a spiritual sickness afflicting the American soul, social justice advocate Iva Carruthers told members and supporters of the New…
Pastor friends agree to disagree on homosexuality
By Bob Allen Two Cooperative Baptist Fellowship pastors who have been friends for 30 years say it’s possible to disagree — even disagree strongly — on homosexuality and still remain friends. “You can advocate on these things without being polarizing,” Steve Wells,…
Baptists must do more to help immigrants, advocate says
By Jeff Brumley Baptists can no longer stand by and watch as Catholics, Mennonites, Methodists and other Christians take the lead in ministering to immigrants, a Baptist scholar and immigration advocate told members of the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North…
CBF prays for victims in S.C. church shooting
By Bob Allen The first order of business for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship June 18 was prayer for victims in Wednesday’s deadly shooting at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C. Prior to a Thursday morning business session of…
Pray for McKinney while in Dallas, ministers urge CBF Baptists
By Jeff Brumley Baptists and human rights, women in the Old Testament and the benefits of parish nursing are just a few of the topics Fellowship Baptists will be talking about at General Assembly this week. And there’s another topic…
Baptists open safe house for human trafficking victims
By Vicki Brown Savannah Oswald elbowed her way through the crowds on Black Friday 2014, searching for the cutest clothes she could find for her limited bucks. The then-high school senior cast a practiced eye over the racks and nabbed…