Few ministers need coaches or surveys to tell them what Americans think of clergy these days. They can rely on their own experiences for that. Amy Butler does. Based on interactions with strangers on flights, at parties and in other…
‘Black sheep Baptist’ explores inspiration, path to newfound spiritual identity
Justin Cox is a first-year student at Wake Forest University School of Divinity, a Cooperative Baptist Leadership Scholar, and minister to students at First Baptist Church in Statesville, N.C. Not bad for a guy who’s only been Baptist for just…
Modern — and ancient — Christian identity crisis drives decline of American church
Europeans, it seems, are wondering if American Christianity has pretty much gone off the rails. A recent editorial in Great Britain’s The Guardian newspaper raised the question after describing the role faith has had in the “social and political convulsions”…
Baptist schools make list of seminaries known for combining faith, service
Three Baptist seminaries are among more than 30 ranked by a think tank for making significant impacts on the world. The Center for Faith and Service cooperates with divinity schools, churches, denominations and other organizations to create programs integrating faith…
Historian says it’s ‘too late in the denominational game’ for segregated ministry
Baptists no longer have the luxury in today’s culture of ministering to their communities in silos separated by race, Baptist historian Bill Leonard said June 23 at a New Baptist Covenant luncheon at the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship General Assembly in…
CBF church models open attitude on NPR
National Public Radio featured a small Cooperative Baptist Fellowship church in Louisville, Ky., in a two-part series May 10 on the different ways U.S. evangelicals are responding to shifting attitudes about homosexuality and marriage in the United States. NPR’s Morning…
What’s driving religious freedom debate in the U.S.? Fear, say some.
It was just about a year ago when Baptist writer and minister Corey Fields wrote a column critiquing a spate of “religious freedom” bills pushed through statehouses around the country. Indiana’s version was one of the more high-profile measures. It…
Engaging Compassionate Curiosity on Sexuality
In a recent visit to the Wake Forest Divinity School, Baptist minister and PhD candidate Cody Sanders shared reflections on his book, Queer Lessons for Churches on the Straight and Narrow, and the intersection of the church and human sexuality….