Diana Chandler

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Texas six-week abortion ban remains active after court appeals

A Texas law banning abortions when a fetal heartbeat is detected — around six weeks of pregnancy — remains in effect after a New Orleans appeals court tossed it back to the state. The Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of... Continue Reading »

Prayer guide equips Christians to pray for persecuted believers

Prayer is the first thing persecuted Christians request when Voice of the Martyrs spokesman Todd Nettleton encounters them in countries where it’s difficult to practice their faith. Whether the woman he encountered on a recent trip to the Middle... Continue Reading »

Black church influence gauged decades after King’s death

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.... Continue Reading »

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... Continue Reading »

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... Continue Reading »

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... Continue Reading »

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... Continue Reading »

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... Continue Reading »

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... Continue Reading »

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... Continue Reading »

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... Continue Reading »

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... Continue Reading »