A new study illustrates in numbers what many already know intuitively: evangelicals aren’t big on dialoguing with anyone but themselves. “Evangelicals seem to have a particularly difficult time talking to those outside their group,” the Barna Group reported in a March…
Is Trump a moderate or a maniac? Divinity school professor isn’t sure
Last fall, Wake Forest School of Divinity scholar John Senior celebrated the release of his first book, which examines the moral complexities that shape how politicians govern. The book also proposes that those who govern should view their positions as…
Chelsea Clinton says Sunday school lesson made her a former Baptist
The daughter of current presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton says people on both ends of the political spectrum are skeptical about her parents’ faith. Chelsea Clinton said she is tired of people questioning her family’s faith, adding that she chose…
For Baptists-turned-Episcopalians, Anglican disagreement feels familiar
By Jeff Brumley Growing up Southern Baptist in Alabama, Malcom Marler saw just how nasty people can be when they disagree about scripture and thorny theological issues. The resulting departure of moderates and liberals from the convention in the late…
Church building on site of SBC’s birth declared unsafe
By Bob Allen The birthplace of the Southern Baptist Convention in downtown Augusta, Ga., has been condemned for occupancy after a routine inspection, the Augusta Chronicle reported Nov. 23. The city inspection came amid reports that homeless people were sleeping…
SBC president suggests a single mission board
By Bob Allen Southern Baptist Convention President Ronnie Floyd suggested merger of the convention’s two mission boards during a symposium on the denomination’s future Sept. 28-29 at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, Mo. “Structures and systems flow from…
Using urban church planting to engage unreached groups
By Brian Kaylor When East St. Louis is mentioned on the news, the focus usually remains on the crime rate and its status as one of the deadliest cities in the nation. However, when Kempton Turner walks around the Illinois…
Defining evangelicals with a mirror: A response to Russell Moore
“We demand the freedom of all religious confessions in the state, insofar as they do not jeopardize the state’s existence or conflict with the manners and moral sentiments of the Germanic race. The Party as such upholds the point of…
Fewer Americans believe suicide guarantees damnation
By Jeff Brumley A new survey shows that most Americans, including large numbers of Christians, hold compassionate views about people who kill themselves. But some Baptist ministers remember times, not all that distant, when that wasn’t the case. Barry Howard,…
Chaplain: Military trains you to see ministry as God’s work, not yours
By Jeff Brumley Imagine spending three or four years in a place, building new ministries or reviving existing ones, only to be replaced by someone else and sent somewhere else to do it all over again. It’s a feeling that…
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…
A quarter-century after the SBC holy war
This past week marked the 25th anniversary of the final battle in the Southern Baptist holy war. The former combatants noted the occasion appropriately: They got on with current business. The Southern Baptist Convention conducted its annual meeting in Columbus,…