By Brandon Elrod Baptist Press ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — State directors of Southern Baptist Disaster Relief (SBDR) and Send Relief, the compassion ministry arm for Southern Baptists, entered into a new working agreement when SBDR directors gathered for their annual roundtable on January 27 in Albuquerque, N.M. The SBDR state directors affirmed the measure without any dissenting votes. The new agreement was spurred on by the decision of the North American

By Brandon Porter Baptist Press LVIV, Ukraine — As the Russian invasion of Ukraine is underway, many Christians are wondering how they can help and how they can pray for those facing Europe’s first full-scale war in decades. “With the recent Russian invasion of Ukraine, we join all those in Eastern Europe in praying for peace,” International Mission Board President Paul Chitwood said. Chitwood says a right view of God

By Scott Barkley Baptist Press NASHVILLE — Executive Committee trustees approved two recommendations from the Committee on Convention Finances and Stewardship Development Feb. 22 to increase allocations up to $2 million each for legal fees and the ongoing investigation regarding claims of sexual abuse. Committee chair Archie Mason brought both recommendations, explaining that the amounts will come out of operating reserves generated from allocations from Cooperative Program funds to the

By Jennifer Davis Rash The Baptist Paper The February gathering of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee kicked off Feb. 21 with more than six hours of meetings, most of which related to reports and discussions related to planning for upcoming budget needs and reviewing the remaining referred motions. EC members also ratified the Feb. 1 decision by the officers to name Willie McLaurin interim president and CEO. Read more

By Margaret Colson The Baptist Paper In a Feb. 22 morning session that stretched into the afternoon, Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee members named a seven-member presidential search committee to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of Ronnie Floyd last October. Those named to serve on the search committee are:

By Jennifer Davis Rash The Baptist Paper Discussions about the investigation of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee’s handling of sexual abuse cases landed primarily on the topic of funding during the Feb. 21–22 EC meeting. While the original motion passed by messengers to the 2021 SBC Annual Meeting in Nashville states the investigation is to be paid for by the EC’s Cooperative Program allocation, some confusion existed originally about

By Aaron Earls Lifeway Christian Resources writer NASHVILLE — Americans are curious about the religious devotion of others and are willing to discuss the topic, but most say they rarely have conversations about faith with their Christian friends. An Evangelism Explosion study conducted by Lifeway Research found Americans are widely receptive to spiritual conversations in a variety of settings. “This study reveals that most Americans are open to talking about