‘Build a Boat’: Colton Dixon’s CCM chart-topper launches Idol alum to new heights
KATHRYN POST, of Religion News Service, speaks to ‘American Idol’ alum Colton Dixon who says that with his latest song, he’s been able to write about the kind of bold faith God has required of him…
Southern Baptists cut ties with LGBTQ-friendly church
United StatesAP The Southern Baptist Conventions’ top administrative body voted to cut ties with two congregations on Tuesday – an LGBTQ-friendly church in North Carolina that had itself quit the denomination decades ago and a New Jersey congregation it cited for “alleged discriminatory behaviour”. The votes of the Executive Committee came at the end of […]
Southern Baptist executive committee hires Guidepost Solutions to review Moore allegations
RNS Responding to allegations that it has mishandled allegations of abuse in the past, the Southern Baptist Convention’s executive committee announced Friday that it had retained a firm to “conduct an independent review of its processes,” according to a statement from Ronnie Floyd, president of the executive committee. The review by Guidepost Solutions comes in […]
Racial prejudice a factor in rejection of black pastor acknowledges a Southern Baptist Church
RNS A prominent Southern Baptist church in south-west Florida has acknowledged that “racial prejudice” was a factor in its congregation’s decision not to appoint a black senior pastor candidate. Pastor Marcus Hayes, a leader of Biltmore Church in Asheville, North Carolina, received 81 per cent of the vote by “a record 3,818” in attendance last […]
ESSAY: PROSPERITY GOSPEL’S FALSE PROMISES AREN’T ALWAYS ABOUT MONEY
US Baptist pastor and author ALAN CROSS, in an article first published on Religion News Service, looks at different aspects of the so-called ‘prosperity gospel’…
US: MORE CHURCHES ARE CHECKING THE NATIONAL SEX OFFENDER REGISTRY – BUT IS IT HELPING?
YONAT SHIMRON, of Religion News Service, reports on how US churches are increasingly looking at the backgrounds of volunteers and employees…
US Southern Baptists report condemns “epidemic” of abuse, looks at ways to assist victims
RNS A new Southern Baptist Convention report on sex abuse, filled with the voices of survivors, acknowledges numerous ways the denomination has failed to protect members of its churches. The Caring Well report also summarises a range of next steps to address the issue, including educating congregations about abuse, preparing them to help survivors and […]
In the US, Southern Baptist seminary denies request for reparations
RNS Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, which released a report last year about its connections to slavery, has denied a request from an interracial ministers coalition to financially support a nearby black college as a form of reparations. EmpowerWest, a coalition of black and white pastors in Louisville, Kentucky, where the seminary is located, recently contacted school officials […]
Rabbi with a gift for fundraising among evangelicals mourned as friend
RNS Soon after Southern Baptist leader Bailey Smith famously said “God Almighty doesn’t hear the prayers of a Jew”, he got a call from a US-based Orthodox rabbi challenging Smith to join him on a trip to Israel. That rabbi on the line was Yechiel Eckstein, who single-handedly worked to develop deeper ties between evangelical […]
US: SEMINARIES PARTNER WITH PRISONS TO OFFER INMATES NEW LIVES AS MINISTERS
YONAT SHIMRON, writing for Religion News Service, reports on how US evangelical schools such as Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary offer inmates a free, on-site college degree if they promise they’ll minister to other inmates once they graduate…