In addition to being a college professor and preacher, I have the privilege of teaching self-defense skills to people in my community on a weekly basis through my self-defense company, Peaceful Warrior, LLC. Although most people we encounter in life are law-abiding and peace-loving people, there are folks who might intend us harm. We could […]
Amid ongoing discussion of statements by Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary President Paige Patterson on domestic violence, Patterson and the executive committee of the seminary trustees have issued a statement affirming “the importance of protecting victims of abuse.” Meanwhile, at least five Southern Baptist Convention entity presidents have made statements on domestic violence since April 29. […]
On Nov. 5, 2017, First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, Texas, experienced a tragedy that is the nightmare of every pastor and church member. Devin Patrick Kelley killed 26 people in and around the church and wounded 20 others. Immediately after this horrific mass murder, attention focused on church security and safety — and rightly […]
When Mac Brunson, co-senior pastor of 10,000-member First Baptist Church in Jacksonville, stepped into the pulpit Sunday, it began as any other worship experience. But by the time the April 29 service ended, Brunson had announced his immediate resignation from his pastorate of a dozen years and left the sanctuary with his wife, Deb. Heath […]
North Carolina pastor J.D. Greear, one of two candidates to be nominated for Southern Baptist Convention president in June, responded to six questions from Baptist Press and Baptist state editors. Florida pastor Ken Whitten announced Greear’s nomination for SBC president Jan. 29. During the 16 years Greear has pastored The Summit, worship attendance has grown […]
University administrator and former seminary president Ken Hemphill, one of two candidates to be nominated for Southern Baptist Convention president in June, responded to six questions from Baptist Press and Baptist state editors. A coalition of Southern Baptists announced the nomination Feb. 1 via a Baptist state paper. (See related Baptist Press report.) Hemphill was […]
GQ’s inclusion of the Bible in a list of 21 overrated classic books has drawn expressions of pity for the popular men’s magazine. “Our response as believers should not be defensiveness or outrage,” said Union University Bible professor George Guthrie, “but pity for those who have never glimpsed even the smallest ray of beauty, the […]
First Baptist Church was on the front line, ministering to students, faculty and staff after a gunman opened fire at nearby Forest High School in Ocala, Fla. One student was injured in the April 20 incident, which lasted only minutes. But the church’s connection to the shooting goes beyond providing crisis ministry to students and […]
There’s a good reason for the spring in Jeremy Atwood’s step. The Glasgow, Ky., pastor has lost 240 pounds over the past two years on a quest to restore his physical and spiritual health. For Atwood, food had become a vice that was sapping his energy and hindering his ministry. Years of unchecked eating had […]
Alex Malarkey, the boy who claimed in a bestselling book that he went to heaven while comatose from a car accident, is suing his publisher, Tyndale House, for damages including book profits from the since-retracted story. The 2010 book “The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven” listed Malarkey as a coauthor with his father, Kevin, […]