A Christianity united through ecumenism could bring guidance and healing to the cultural, political and environmental challenges confronting the U.S. and other nations, Baptist author and scholar Steven Harmon believes. The professor of historical theology at Gardner-Webb University School of…
She’s Gen-Z, became leery of the church but practices faith with fitness
Tia Howell didn’t invent the idea that mind, body and spirit are intimately connected, but the 24-year-old personal fitness coach in Mount Holly, N.C., lives it as she would a calling. She’s also among one of the fastest-growing groups in…
Religion Notes: Pastors oppose sports gambling; Gardner-Webb featured in March Madness broadcast
Most Protestant pastors oppose sports gambling and its legalization, a position placing them at odds with much of society and even with their own congregations. “The large majority of pastors oppose sports betting,” Scott McConnell, executive director of LifeWay Research,…
Religion Notes: New CBF leader headed for Texas; GWU elects new president
The new executive director of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship will tour parts of Texas during his first week on the job. Paul Baxley is to address meetings in Dallas, Fort Worth, Waco, Austin, San Antonio and Houston March 20-22, Fellowship…
Churches must ‘count the cost’ of pursuing youth on social media
Youth have abandoned Facebook in favor of other social media platforms. Data recently released by the Pew Research Center shows Facebook rates fourth behind YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat among young people. So, should churches with strong Facebook presences follow younger…
Religion Notes: Spelling bee champ clinches with word most evangelicals already know
Koinonia, one of the most popular Greek words in the English-speaking evangelical world, made a splashy return to the limelight during the 2018 Scripps National Spelling Bee.
Shots fired at Baptist school
Baptist-affiliated Gardner-Webb University went into lockdown Sept. 27 after gunshots were fired on the campus in Boiling Springs, N.C. No injuries were reported, and university officials told local media the campus returned to its normal schedule on Thursday. As of…
Pope invokes MLK, a Baptist, as a Christian life to emulate
By Jeff Brumley Baptist scholar Steven Harmon was struck by something in Pope Francis’ address to Congress today that hasn’t gotten a lot of attention: its ecumenical message. The pontiff cited Dorothy Day, Thomas Merton and Martin Luther King Jr….
Common story, community and Christian higher education
(The following are my prepared remarks delivered as a devotion for the President’s Prayer Breakfast at Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs, North Carolina on September 2, 2015.) The one unalterable date on our family’s summer calendar is the third week…