Baptist
Calling Ten Commandments ‘sayings’ draws ire of Baptists
By Ron Barnett — January 22, 2015
GREENVILLE, S.C. (RNS) A Baptist minister is in hot water after preaching a sermon that called the Ten Commandments sayings or promises rather than mandates.
Prominent pastor: “The Spirit inside of you is better than Jesus beside you”
By Jonathan Merritt — December 17, 2014
Mega-church pastor J.D. Greear has been quietly amassing influence among conservative evangelicals. Now, he's making waves with a new book about the Holy Spirit.
Baptist pastor calls for the execution of gays for an “aids-free Christmas”
By Eliel Cruz — December 3, 2014
A pastor in Arizona is going viral after calling for the mass murder of gays during his sermon.
With persecution now ended, Protestants in Russia sputter along, pastor says
By Heidi Hall — October 8, 2014
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (RNS) After perestroika, Russians couldn't get enough evangelical preaching. These days, Ignatenkov said, people are indifferent.
3 ways Texas’ religion affects us all
By Jonathan Merritt — October 7, 2014
Texas is not just a giant land mass filled with religious people in 10-gallon hats. It is also America's most influential Bible-belt state.
Baptist decline is just math: More move to other churches than the reverse
By Tobin Grant — September 11, 2014
Baptists are losing members to other churches. This unbalanced exchange is unlikely to stop any time soon.
Two Baptist institutions with controversial leaders face accreditation trouble
By Sarah Pulliam Bailey — June 23, 2014
(RNS) The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges recently voted to remove Brewton-Parker College in Georgia from membership one year after it placed the school on probation over finances.
Southern Baptists not expected to address gay-affirming congregation
By Jonathan Merritt — June 11, 2014
A Southern Baptist congregation created a media firestorm when they decided to accept LGBT persons. Though their parent denomination disagrees, they will not likely take action.
Jimmy Carter 3.0: Building a post-presidential legacy
By Adelle M. Banks — May 28, 2014
(RNS) No longer just a former president, he’s Jimmy Carter 3.0: The globe-trotting, Sunday school-teaching, house-building elder statesman is living out his faith through humanitarian causes -- seeking to conquer the abuse of women and eradicate global disease.
Oleksandr Turchynov’s Baptist faith may help defuse Ukrainian crisis
By Olga Rudenko — February 26, 2014
KIEV, Ukraine (RNS) Acting President Oleksandr Turchynov is neither Ukrainian Orthodox nor Eastern Rite Catholic, and that may be the key to his success at a time when fissures between East and West are threatening to split the country, analysts say.
Pastor Andy Stanley tells Christians ‘how to be rich’
By Jonathan Merritt — December 31, 2013
The mega-church pastor has a new message about poverty, wealth, and the prosperity gospel.
Suzan Johnson Cook defends her work on religious freedom and explains why she left
By Lauren Markoe — October 28, 2013
WASHINGTON (RNS) The Obama administration's ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom is hoping to make more money in the private sector.
Baptist-Hindu couple write how-to book on interfaith marriage
By Bob Smietana — October 25, 2013
(RNS) When she signed up on eHarmony, the website asked J. Dana Trent what faiths she’d be open to in a partner. She initially checked Christian and Jewish, and then, on a whim, added other faith traditions. That ended up including Fred Eaker, an American-born Hindu convert.
Is Mark Driscoll this generation’s Pat Robertson?
By Jonathan Merritt — May 13, 2013
Controversial pastor Mark Driscoll has amassed a following among cool Christians, but he's strikingly similar to the blundering Pat Robertson.
Shifting our understanding of “salvation”: An interview with J.D. Greear
By Jonathan Merritt — February 21, 2013
Note: Each Friday, “On Faith & Culture” will feature an exclusive interview with a Christian thought leader or a voice of importance to the American Christian community. Thirty-nine-year-old J.D. Greear pastors The Summit Church in Durham, N.C., which has been named one of the top 25 fast-growing churches in America for several years by Outreach […]