Pastors often call their church members “saints” when they pass from this life, but that’s no exaggeration for one of the most famous Baptist laywomen of our generation, says a former pastor to Rosalynn Carter. Brandon Patterson is one of…
Jimmy Carter leads by example one last time
Former President Jimmy Carter’s final modeling of Christian faith may have come when he made public his choice to enter hospice care on Feb. 18. Across the nation, professionals who address end-of-life issues every day reported Carter’s decision sparked conversations…
New Baptist Covenant shifts gears to convene, connect and communicate
A combination of COVID-19 and increased national conversations around race have prompted New Baptist Covenant to announce a change in strategy. Launched in 2007 with impetus from former President Jimmy Carter, New Baptist Covenant sought to create a movement that…
The re-assassination Of Martin Luther King Jr.
A year to the day before he was assassinated, Martin Luther King Jr., a Baptist pastor, publicly defined the war in Vietnam as a civil rights issue on April 4, 1967, in an address titled Beyond Vietnam: A Time to Break Silence to…
Afghanistan: A tragic example of an unjust war
I was born in the waning years of the Vietnam War. I don’t recall the war itself, but one of my earliest childhood memories dates to about 1970 and, for some reason, it is remarkably vivid. I had tagged along…
The end of Trump’s presidency does not end America’s root problem
Donald Trump’s presidency ended with the United States leading the world in the number of deaths caused by the coronavirus pandemic. He left Washington, D.C., as more federal troops were in Washington than at any other time since the Civil War,…
It’s still rare for a Baptist minister to serve in Congress
Raphael Warnock’s election to the United States Senate has been hailed as historic for several reasons — being the first Black senator from Georgia at the top of the list — but he also will become one of the few…
America’s second Catholic president faces a vastly different landscape than the first
The first time Americans elected a Catholic as president, Baptists were among those expressing alarm over possible violations of church-state separation. This year, with the imminent inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden as the nation’s second Catholic president, the landscape looks…
Small, one-pastor church lives into big vision with Koinonia Farm, Jimmy Carter and wider progressive movement
“There is a rich legacy of progressive Baptists doing things in here in Sumter County.”