After sermon criticising wives’ weight, pastor resigns as moderator of US General Baptist meeting
RNS Leaders of the General Baptist Council of Associations in the US have recommended an investigation of a minister who preached that “weight control” by wives is the solution for marital problems. Stewart-Allen Clark, pastor of the First General Baptist Church in Malden, Missouri, is seen in video clips of a Feb. 21 sermon questioning […]
In the US, Southern Baptists warm to alternate moniker ‘Great Commission Baptists’
RNS Months ahead of their planned annual meeting, some Southern Baptist leaders are embracing an unofficial moniker for their gathering and, in some cases, for themselves: Great Commission Baptists. The name simultaneously distances them from a regional affiliation and focuses on the command of Jesus for his followers to spread his message worldwide, some leaders […]
Influential US pastor, Charles Stanley, steps down at First Baptist Church Atlanta after 50 years
RNS Charles Stanley doesn’t believe in retirement, he said. But the influential pastor is stepping down from his role at First Baptist Church Atlanta after more than 50 years. Pastor Charles Stanley preaches. PICTURE: Video screengrab via In Touch Ministries “As much as I love being your pastor, I know in my heart this season […]
THE INTERVIEW: REV TIMOTHY STEWART, BAPTIST LEADER FINDS DEVASTATION AND RESILIENCE IN THE BAHAMAS AFTER HURRICANE DORIAN
ADELLE M BANKS, of Religion News Service, speaks with Rev Timothy Stewart, president of the Progressive National Baptist Convention, after he visited the Bahamas island of Grand Bahamas this week…
With more migrants stalled in Mexico, Baptists may play larger role on border
RNS As the director of disaster relief for the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention and a former resident of the border region himself, Scottie Stice and his colleagues have spent years giving aid to migrants along the US-Mexico border. But these days, said the Texan, “We have had an increase in numbers.” Migrants from various […]
Bible teacher and pastor Warren Wiersbe dies at age 89
Pastor and Bible teacher Warren Wiersbe has died at the age of 89. Warren Wiersbe in an interview earlier this year with Thomas Nelson publishers. PICTURE: Via YouTube. Dr Wiersbe, known to many as the “pastor’s pastor”, was a prolific speaker and author who wrote more than 150 books but who is perhaps best-known for […]
Children barred from attending church in Tajikstan, 5,000 Christian calendars burned
World Watch Monitor Tajik authorities implementing a new religion law are barring children from attending religious services and have burned thousands of calendars with Bible verses. Amendments to Tajikistan’s Religion Law came into force in January last year, giving the state greater control over religious education, and increasing the amount of information religious organisations must pass on […]
ESSAY: WHAT CATHOLICS AND SOUTHERN BAPTISTS CAN LEARN FROM EACH OTHER ABOUT THE SEX ABUSE CRISIS
US Catholic commentator THOMAS REESE, in an article first published on Religion News Service, looks at lessons from sex abuse scandals in the Catholic and now Southern Baptist churches…
More Bible students escape in Myanmar, but 20 women still held
World Watch Monitor Four of the 41 Bible students forcibly recruited by an ethnic minority army in Myanmar’s northern Shan state in September have escaped, according to Catholic news site UCAN. Last month an initial group of 17 students escaped from a United Wa State Army base in the Wa hills near the border with China. […]
Ukraine Baptist church closed by separatists
World Watch Monitor A Baptist church in Ukraine’s south-eastern town of Novoazovsk was forced to close by a separatist group last month, reports Oslo-based news service Forum 18. Novoazovsk is a seaside town in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, eastern Ukraine. The DPR, along with the Luhansk People’s Republic, both backed by Russia, declared independence from Ukraine in […]