The late Martin Luther King Jr. called the church the “conscience of the state” during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. “The church must be the critic and guide of the state, and never its tool,” he said. “I’m grateful to God that, through the Negro church, the dimension of nonviolence entered our struggle.” […]
At least 70 Louisiana churches damaged by Ida’s high winds
More than 70 Southern Baptist churches in South Louisiana suffered structural damage in Hurricane Ida, Louisiana Baptist Convention Director of Missions John Hebert told Baptist Press. “We have churches ranging from desperate to recovering, and the desperate ones need help. They’re below I-10. Insurance rates are out of this world. It’s going to be tough […]
At least 70 Louisiana churches damaged by Hurricane Ida
More than 70 Southern Baptist churches in South Louisiana recently suffered structural damage from Hurricane Ida. “We have churches ranging from desperate to recovering, and the desperate ones need help. They’re below I-10. Insurance rates are out of this world. It’s going to be tough for them,” Louisiana Baptist Convention Director of Missions John Hebert […]
Opioid overdose deaths reach record high during pandemic
Drug overdose deaths reached an all-time high in the United States in 2020, rising nearly 30 percent to more than 93,000, according to the latest provisional numbers from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Among factors impacting the rising deaths are the isolation and loneliness suffered during the COVID-19 pandemic that has killed […]
Messengers call for ‘abolishing abortion immediately’
A day after overruling the Resolutions Committee, messengers to the 2021 Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting adopted a resolution June 16 calling for “abolishing abortion immediately, without exception or compromise.” The Resolutions Committee had declined the resolution, reasoning that while “messengers would agree with some aspects of this resolution,” the issue of abortion was addressed in […]
EC to elect new vice chair after failed attempt to retain Tucker
South Carolina pastor Tom Tucker’s reelection June 14 as vice chairman of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee became moot June 16, when messengers to the 2021 SBC annual meeting rejected a motion to nominate him to a second term on the Executive Committee. The Executive Committee elected Tucker to a second term as vice […]
Gospel hymn DVD outreach takes church to dementia patients
Gospel singer Gerald Wolfe was visiting his father, who was suffering from Parkinson’s disease dementia at a care facility, when a guitarist playing “In the Sweet By and By” struck a chord of memory among patients there. “Within just minutes, most of the people in the room started to sing, and they knew the song,” […]
Alabama DR helping homeowners after Fultondale tornado
“Shock” and “resilience” came to Walker’s Chapel Baptist Church Pastor Ricky Thacker’s mind after a late-night tornado killed at least one person, injured 30 and destroyed homes and businesses in Fultondale, Ala., Jan. 25. First Baptist Church of Fultondale Pastor Mark Gainey posted 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 on Facebook, noting the town’s predicament. “There is that […]
Pastors express ‘decision fatigue’, ‘ministerial frustration’ as COVID-19 pandemic lingers
For the second time since the COVID-19 pandemic began, Rock Hill Baptist Church in rural west Tennessee was resuming onsite worship. Then, Pastor Richard Bray was exposed to the virus and the church had to transition once again to remote worship while Bray waited weeks for his test results. Bray became a one-man worship service […]
Florida Baptist catalyst addresses growing hunger crisis
Rising food insecurity in the United States amid the COVID-19 pandemic is no surprise to Jeffery Singletary. On his latest Feeding the Five Thousand Crusade to the Caribbean, the Florida Baptist leader sensed that the hunger he’s fought there since 2017 was headed to the U.S. “The Lord had just laid on my heart about […]