Browse Archives
Check out news and opinion posts across the years
Profiles in Goodwill: Valerie Carter
Valerie Carter is executive director/treasurer of the Woman’s Missionary Union of Virginia.
‘Freedom Faith: The Womanist Vision of Prathia Hall’
Prathia Hall said “living in the face of death” was “the most powerful expression of freedom-faith.” A new book tells how she followed God’s call to work for liberation for all people, even knowing the risks.
Nearly Half of US Adults Doubt Clergy Have Positive Impact
U.S. adults expressed mixed views about clergy, with slightly more than half affirming clergy have a positive impact on society, a study found. Among the religiously affiliated, 62% say clergy have a positive influence.
July 10, 2019
Gallup: Confidence in Church or Organized Religion Falls to 36 Percent (United Press International) Americans Rarely Seek Guidance from Clergy, Poll Says (Salt Lake Tribune) ‘I Did Not Die. I Did Not Go to Heaven.’...
Junkanoo and protocol, too
The 2019 Annual Gathering of the Baptist World Alliance (BWA) got off to a rousing start Monday with a packed house gathering to enjoy welcome activities offered by the meeting's Bahamian hosts. A string of dignitaries...
You Say You Want a Resolution: A Tale of Two Testimonies
How does a community of faith, especially a large denominational group, express its collective voice to issues of its day? Two large Baptist groups, meeting a week apart in Alabama, contrast different styles of public expression.
Baptist Conference Celebrates Role of Women in Ministry
With plenary sessions examining and celebrating the role of women in ministry, the Baptist International Conference on Theological Education held earlier this month drew some 200 participants.
U.S. Adults Have Little Confidence in Organized Religion
Continuing a multiyear decline, only 36% of U.S. adults expressed “a great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in organized religion, Gallup found. It’s an all-time low in the poll’s history.
Imagine the Difference if Churches Didn’t Mirror Our Angry Culture
We’re living in angry times, and churches show little difference. Imagine the amazing witness churches would have today if they were known by the way they reconcile with, love and restore one another. Houston, we have a problem.
4 Ways Your Church Benefits from Younger Ministers
More churches calling younger clergy to serve as lead pastors. As a result, these younger leaders don’t carry much of the same baggage as their older counterparts. Here are 4 ways that helps their churches.
Volunteering is Christians’ Most Common Way to Express Generosity
Nearly nine out of 10 U.S. Christians said being generous was ‘extremely’ or ‘very’ important, with nearly a third of them saying volunteering or serving others was the way they expressed their generosity, a survey found.
July 8, 2019
Under Trump, Christian Nationalists are Playing to Win – and Liberals are Finally Fighting Back (Salon) Faith and Freedoms: Why Evangelicals Face Unwavering Love for Trump (The Guardian) When American Evangelicals Fall...
Celebrating “HERstory”
The 2019 Baptist International Conference on Theological Education (BICTE) wrapped up July 7 with a panel discussion featuring 11 representative global pastors, counselors, and theologians responding to questions...
23 and Philistine
Bible scholars have long speculated about the origins of the Philistines, who showed up in southern Palestine during the transition from the Late Bronze Age to Iron Age I, somewhere around 1200 BCE. After failing to...
Lost in translation
The second day of the Baptist International Conference on Theological Education got underway with a stirring paper by Valérie Duval-Poujol of France on the subject of "Bible Translations and How They Have Affected...
Women, Baptists, and theology
Every five years or so, the Baptist World Alliance (BWA) sponsors a conference with the ungainly acronym of BICTE: the Baptist International Conference on Theological Education. Meeting either before or after the BWA's...
Profiles in Goodwill: Curtis Freeman
Curtis W. Freeman is research professor of theology and director of the Baptist House of Studies at Duke Divinity School.
Panel: ‘Climate-Friendly Diets’ Crucial to Sustainable Future
Adopting “climate-friendly diets” is essential to creating a sustainable future and mitigating the negative impacts of climate change, a UN panel said. One panelist observed the “way we eat is threatening the planet.”
Look Back | Guarding the Line Between Patriotism, Nationalism
The lines between patriotism and nationalism, between faith and civil religion, are exceedingly fine. Some will try to blur the lines and cross over to swaggering nationalism, but faithful patriots must guard the line with care.
Zucchini Gump
One of my favorite movies is Forrest Gump, and there's a memorable scene in which his army friend Bubba recites to him all the different ways his coastal Louisiana mother knows how to cook shrimp. Fried shrimp, boiled...
How Your Religious Liberty Works Both Ways
Christians, or anyone for that matter, should never be asked to jeopardize their conscience, but they should also not be allowed to discriminate in the public square based upon their faith. Over all else, love must prevail.