Nearly a quarter of American adults consider themselves “spiritual but not religious,” and a plurality of those say organized religion is divisive and spreads intolerance, Pew Research said in its latest release. The 22 percent of Americans describing themselves as spiritual but not religious track with recent U.S. declines in traditional religious beliefs and practices, […]
A Conversation with Our New President
Wes Church, senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Columbia for the past five years, assumed the role of president of the South Carolina Baptist Convention following the annual meeting in November. He will preside at next year’s annual meeting when the state convention will convene at Columbia First on Nov. 11-12. He has chosen […]
What We Believe About Scripture
Baptist Faith & Message 2000 Article I: The Scriptures The Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired and is God’s revelation of Himself to man. It is a perfect treasure of divine instruction. It has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter. Therefore, […]
116 Army soldiers profess Christ at First Lawton’s Living Christmas Tree
When First Baptist Church of Lawton, Okla., sensed godly inspiration to add a second weekend to its Living Christmas Tree, Senior Pastor Mike Keahbone didn’t realize what was in store. “To ask for a church to do it two weekends back-to-back was a difficult, difficult ask,” Keahbone told Baptist Press, citing the long hours and […]
Charleston Southern breaks records again with Christmas shoeboxes
Charleston Southern University has packed the most Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes of any college or university in the nation for the fifth year in a row, with a total of 13,601 boxes in 2023. “Every area of campus participated in packing shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child,” said Jody Jennings, vice president of student life and […]
Obituary: Jack Causey
Richard Wayne “Jack” Causey, 88, of Statesville, N.C., died Nov. 28, 2023. Born in Meridian, Miss., he was a graduate of Mississippi College and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He served as associate minister in Greensboro, N.C., and later served as senior pastor at First Baptist Church, Gaffney, and Pendleton Street Baptist Church, Greenville. He was […]
Bible Reading Plans and Tips
How a person approaches reading through the Bible will vary from person to person, depending on their daily schedule and personality. Some will want to read the Old Testament from Genesis to Malachi and the New Testament Matthew to Revelation. Some will read the OT one day and the NT the next. Some of you […]
Obituary: DeWitt Atkerson
Samuel DeWitt Atkerson, 80, of Camden, died Nov. 1, 2023. A native of Batesburg, he served as pastor of Washington Street Baptist Church, Winnsboro. Survivors include his wife, Helen Raynor Atkerson, three children and five grandchildren.
Obituary: Bob Barnes
Robert Carson “Bob” Barnes Jr., 92, of Irmo, died Nov. 10, 2023. A native of Birmingham, Ala., he was a graduate of Howard College (now Samford University) and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Ordained in 1952, he served churches in Alabama and Florida, and was pastor of Dutch Fork, Ballentine, for 15 years. Prior to his […]
Obituary: John Harold Breland
John Harold Breland, 92, of Columbia, died Dec. 1, 2023. A native of Philadelphia, Miss., he attended Baylor University and was a graduate of the University of South Carolina. He attended Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and served as associate pastor at First Baptist Church, Charleston. He later served as director of music at Calvary and […]