By Brian Kaylor A lot of planning, praying and, yes, worrying, goes into what millennials — those born in the 1980s and 1990s — think about church and worship. Some experts on the generation, including some of its own members, say an…
Churches urged to make July 5 ‘Freedom from Racism Sunday’
By Robert Dilday Congregations around the country are being urged to participate in “Freedom from Racism Sunday” on July 5, when many churches will mark Independence Day in worship services. The New Baptist Covenant has joined the National African American…
CBF participants want more than talk about racial reconciliation
By Marv Knox The time for merely praying about racial injustice is past, a roomful of participants at the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship general assembly agreed last week. They called for action. The mixed-race group participated in “Let Justice Roll Down:…
Mohler won’t remove slaveholder names from seminary buildings
By Bob Allen The president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s oldest seminary says he agrees with the denomination’s ethicist that it’s time to take down the Confederate flag, but he has no plans to remove the names of slaveholders from…
Former youth minister sentenced for sex crimes
By Bob Allen A judge in Cherokee County, Ala., has sentenced a former Southern Baptist youth minister to 10 years in prison for sex crimes, but it won’t add any time to the 15-year sentence he already received in another…
CBF pastor in Charleston says it’s time to get serious about guns, racism
By Bob Allen The pastor of the only Cooperative Baptist Fellowship church in Charleston, S.C., said Sunday morning that in light of last week’s deadly shooting at nearby Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church the time has come for churches to…
Cooperative Baptists challenged to build bridge over ‘gaping wound of racism’
By Aaron Weaver and Carrie McGuffin “Salvation is about healing and wholeness. Now our broken world could use some of that,” said Jim Somerville, senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Richmond, Va., as he addressed the topic of salvation…
How Long, O Lord?
“How Long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?” the Psalmist asks. African Americans ask this question in the wake of the murder of nine Christians at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina during a Wednesday…
It’s hard to sleep
It is hard to sleep. Tonight, I struggle to reach the land of the sandman because I kept wondering if another scenario like the one at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina was taking place elsewhere in…
‘Soul lockdown’ afflicts nation, inspires tragedies like S.C. church shooting, activist says
By Jeff Brumley The Charleston church massacre is not a problem of gun violence or even of racism. Rather, it uncovers a spiritual sickness afflicting the American soul, social justice advocate Iva Carruthers told members and supporters of the New…
Pastor, preach on Charleston shooting
We know now that Dylann Roof acting alone in the shooting and killing that occurred at Emanuel A.M.E. Church in Charleston, S.C. The outpouring of shock, anger, sadness and grief was abundant on social media and on television. As a…
Naming the Mother Emmanuel massacre
The nine individuals murdered last night in Mother Emmanuel Church are martyrs. Their lives bear faithful witness not just to a particular faith, but also to a segment of citizenry within both our country and the peaceable kingdom of Jesus…