I learned a lot of things in seminary, like how to perform baptisms and administer Communion, why understanding cultural context is important when reading and interpreting Scripture, and the importance of sneaking Amy Grant lyrics into almost any theological conversation….
Members of Florida church required to sign ‘biblical sexuality’ statement or be removed from membership
Members of a Jacksonville, Fla., Baptist church have until March 19 to sign a statement on “biblical sexuality” or be removed from membership. All members of First Baptist Church of Jacksonville are required to sign a form that indicates their…
Eight months later, there’s renewed interest in Adam Hamilton’s video on why he’ll remain a United Methodist
United Methodists do not face a “binary choice,” the pastor of the denomination’s largest church in America told his congregation last spring, foreshadowing the schism that has since become full-blown. A video of Adam Hamilton, pastor of Church of the…
Reading the Conservative Baptist Network’s new ‘report’ will make you feel sorry for the six SBC presidents
The Conservative Baptist Network has released a 40-page report on what it calls “The Evidences of Concern Within the Southern Baptist Convention.” The document seeks to bolster CBN’s claim that the SBC has fallen into liberalism, embraces Critical Race Theory…
Church of England won’t allow same-sex marriage but may allow a liturgical blessing of civil unions
The Church of England will not allow same-sex marriage, despite renewed debate and calls for change in the state church. Bishops met Jan. 17 to finalize a recommendation after five years of debate on the issue that already has ripped…
Class-action suit against Department of Education alleging discrimination in Title IX exemptions dismissed
A challenge of the U.S. Department of Education granting religious exemptions to faith-based schools that allow them to discriminate while receiving federal funding has been dismissed by a U.S. District Court judge. Judge Ann Aiken of the U.S. District Court…
How our view of creation and incarnation shape our view of intersex people
Every disconnection from communal wholeness goes back to a disconnection within the self, which is fundamentally experienced in bodies. So the way Christians talk about Jesus being born as a human body has the potential to shape either wholeness or…
Suburban Dallas UMC congregation withholds funds in protest of former pastor’s ‘scapegoating’ by the local bishop
A congregation in suburban Dallas is withholding about $15,000 in dues to the United Methodist Church’s North Texas Annual Conference to protest the “scapegoating” of a former pastor there who is gay. As if the schism in the UMC weren’t…
What is the cost of the church’s failure in ‘Explaining Jesus’ to its members?
In his 2018 song “Explaining Jesus” Jordy Searcy opens the floor to a solemn and honest discussion about evangelical church life. He begins the song with lyrics that acknowledge some gay believers’ feelings of inadequacy when they consider their relationship…