In 1850, there were about 700,000 Baptists in the United States, evenly divided between North and South. As the nation expanded and grew, Baptists advanced in membership and social standing. As they expanded, they divided into divergent denominational groups, and…
More than a dream: The undiluted legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.
It has been 60 years since one of the most iconic gatherings in U.S. history, On Aug. 28, 1963, in Washington D.C., the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom was held. Simply known as the March on Washington, this…
To understand white Christian nationalism, look to Doctrine of Discovery, Jones says
The historic fusing of Christianity and white supremacy is a moral and spiritual cancer eating at the body and soul of the American church, Robert P. Jones says in his latest book, The Hidden Roots of White Supremacy and the…
A Baptist by any other name would …
These days, it appears Baptist churches and individuals across the theological spectrum are, for a variety of reasons, calling the very name “Baptist” into question. Truth is, that particular Protestant movement was called into question long before the name “Baptist”…
‘Try That in A Sundown Town’
A small radio rested in my grandmother’s kitchen — one of those gadgets stained by time and the touch of hands that saw a day’s labor before sunrise. On it played nothing but Country Gold. As pintos simmered on the…
Maybe there’s a hidden message in Fall Out Boy’s cover of ‘We Didn’t Start the Fire’
Fans are offering mixed reviews of pop-punk band Fall Out Boy’s new cover of Billy Joel’s song “We Didn’t Start the Fire,” which dropped last Wednesday. Originally released in September 1989, Joel’s song offers a chronological crash course of notable…
White Christian nationalism is an ‘unholy alliance’ between fundamentalism and politics, Tisby tells BNG crowd
An event that occurred outside Atlanta more than a century ago presaged the violent, racist God-and-country resurgence of white Christian nationalism that pervades America today, historian and author Jemar Tisby said during the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s General Assembly in Atlanta…
A 1984 prediction comes true for the SBC
In 1984, Sarah Ann Hobbs, director of mission for the North Carolina Baptist State Convention, offered some predictions for women in ministry over the next 30 years. She rightly noted that as women took on more roles in the workforce,…
Resolving to ‘respect the diversity’ of the global Baptist family
Last week, Baptist News Global reported the removal from the Baptist World Alliance Commission on Interfaith Relations and another BWA commission of a gay man whose sexual orientation and same-sex marriage were known at the time of his appointment. Much…