Alcohol consumption has jumped back into Baptist discussions, this time stirred by the termination of a high-profile pastor. Perry Noble’s removal as senior pastor of the multi-campus NewSpring Church in South Carolina was communicated to members and attendees during Sunday worship services, July 10. “Perry’s posture towards his marriage, increased reliance on alcohol and other […]
Thomas “Thom” Tapp, one of Baptist Press’ featured cartoonists for 15 years, died June 11 in Kingston, Tenn. Tapp, a pastor who drew and penned the “Church of the Covered Dish,” died of liver cancer at age 65. His Church of the Covered Dish led by pastor “Eli Chortlesnort” first appeared in 1997 in the […]
A $4 thrift store purchase is affecting my life. It’s not as life-changing as the name of Jesus, but it is nudging my soul in a positive direction. This purchase — a beginner’s CD for learning Spanish — is teaching me more than an alphabet, basic grammar and Spanish words for everyday nouns and verbs. […]
A sex trafficking felony charge against a children’s minister has left a 4,000-member church reeling. Jason Kennedy, 46, who joined Grace Baptist Church’s staff two and a half years ago, was arrested May 19 in Knoxville — one of 30-plus individuals charged in a four-day undercover sting operation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and […]
Ed Stetzer, executive director of LifeWay Research and executive editor of The Gospel Project curriculum published by LifeWay, has been named to the faculty of Wheaton College and as executive director of Wheaton’s Billy Graham Center for Evangelism. Stetzer, 49, will begin his new roles at Wheaton July 1, which also will include publisher of […]
“There will be a day when I’m gone and there will be a day when you are gone,” Frank S. Page said. “What kind of legacy will we leave behind,” Page asked, “as the Executive Committee, as students, as professors, as preachers, as lay men and women?” Page reviewed the legacy Southern Baptists are building […]
“Were you able to join us at the 2015 Southern Baptist Convention in Columbus, Ohio?” SBC president Ronnie Floyd asked on his blog July 20. “If not, these are some things you missed” during the June 16-17 gathering in Columbus, Floyd wrote. To those who were in Columbus and those who weren’t, he added, “We […]
A Montana judge’s summary judgement ruling has led to a $26 million insurance settlement in a quadriplegic man’s lawsuit against the North American Mission Board stemming from a 2009 auto accident. Jeremy Vangsnes, who was 21 at the time of the July 2009 accident, was traveling with two of his brothers, Dan, then 24, and […]
Racial turmoil in Baltimore commanded the nation’s attention April 27-28. “While we watch on the screen and read what is happening in Baltimore,” Southern Baptist Convention President Ronnie Floyd said, “we need to pray for our pastors and churches in Baltimore as they rise up together, calling Baltimore to a better way to live personally […]
The subpoenas will be withdrawn, Houston Mayor Annise Parker announced today (Oct. 29). The word “subpoenas” grabbed national attention after it became known that five Houston ministers were being subpoenaed for sermons and other private correspondence regarding their opposition to the Houston Equal Rights Ordinance. “I don’t want to have a national debate about freedom […]