By Robert Dilday The Baptist World Alliance may be the best opportunity Baptists have to embrace a “transcongregational” mindset which balances their historic adherence to congregational autonomy while avoiding the isolation of local church independence. That’s the assessment of outgoing…
New BWA president aims to be transformative agent
By Robert Dilday Living in apartheid-era South Africa, Paul Msiza found both his race and his religion objects of scorn. The country’s legal and social systems discriminated against blacks, while the close association between the nation’s state church and those…
Faith propels Carnahan to ‘repair the world’ after governor husband, son lost in crash
By Vicki Brown Missourians know Jean Carnahan for her contributions in the past — as First Lady of Missouri when the late Mel Carnahan served as governor and as the first woman to represent the state in the U.S. Senate….
Memorial service for ‘Baptist folk hero’ portrays passionate life
By Robert Dilday Laughter, not tears, prevailed at a memorial service July 18 for fiery religious liberty advocate James Dunn, who died two weeks ago at 83. A packed sanctuary at Knollwood Baptist Church in Winston-Salem, N.C. — the congregation…
The pastor’s dilemma: To friend or not to friend
By Jeff Brumley A Baptist pastor and columnist recently wrote that becoming friends with members of his church was bumping up against his seminary training. “The standard and dominant view is that the office of pastor has clearly defined boundaries…
Fox News personality fills pulpit at Southern Baptist church
By Bob Allen American Christians are on the verge of having their faith criminalized, Fox News pundit Todd Starnes warned a Southern Baptist church in Georgia in a July 5 “Faith, Family & Freedom Celebration” aired on local television. “There is…
Social workers struggle to talk religion and spirituality, study says
By Jeff Brumley Licensed clinical social worker Christen Argueta often delved into clients’ religious and spiritual views when she worked for a nonprofit counseling agency for children and families. The Houston-based counselor said it was important to do so because…
Former youth minister sentenced in third court
By Bob Allen A former Southern Baptist youth minister has been sentenced in a third Alabama county for sexually abusing young boys in the 1980s. Mack Allen Davis, 74, former youth pastor at Lakeside Baptist Church in Birmingham, Ala., was…
Complementarian scholar moves to Midwestern Seminary
By Bob Allen Owen Strachan, a leading advocate of a theological view that men and women have different but complementary roles in marriage, church and society, has been named to the faculty of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City,…