BRENTWOOD – Few pastors leave the pulpit each year, but those who do mostly say it was a personal decision. According to a Lifeway Research study of former senior pastors in four Protestant denominations who stepped down before retirement age, 4 in 5 (81 percent) felt sure during most of their ministry at their last church that they could stay there as long as they wanted. Only around 1 percent of U.S.
BRENTWOOD – As students head back to the classroom, they’re likely to see the impact of local churches in their schools this year. According to a Lifeway Research study, 4 in 5 U.S. Protestant pastors identify at least one way their congregations have engaged with local public schools in the last year. Only 18 percent of churches say they weren’t involved with area schools. The average congregation connected with schools in
NASHVILLE (BP) – Cooperative Program giving in July came in more than 6 percent below budget, while designated giving showed a marked increase over July of last year. Southern Baptists gave more than $14 million in undesignated receipts last month, bringing the year-to-date total to $155,238,788.72 – 3.13 percent below the year-to-date budget goal of $160,250,000. Designated receipts for July were well above (62.34 percent) last year’s July numbers, bringing
NASHVILLE (BP) – Brent Leatherwood has resigned as president of the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, ending nearly nine years of service that began in 2017 as director of strategic partnerships. The ERLC Board of Trustees accepted Leatherwood’s resignation in a called meeting today (July 31) in Nashville, gratefully noting his character and achievements in the role he began in 2021 in an acting capacity before becoming president
Each week, headlines tell us pastors are burnt out. They’re leaving the ministry. They’re throwing in the towel. Pastoral ministry is too hard on the family. The demands are too high. The challenges are too difficult. The message we hear: There’s a mass exodus of pastors. While this story isn’t all wrong, the assertion that pastors are leaving the pulpit in droves because of ministry burnout is a myth. The
Almost 10 years after the Supreme Court granted national recognition to same-sex marriages, most Americans support that right, but the percentage has plateaued in recent years. The latest Gallup survey finds 68 percent of U.S. adults think marriages between same-sex couples should be recognized by the law as valid, with the same rights as traditional marriages. Support for same-sex marriage topped out at 71 percent in 2022 and 2023. The current percentage
On July 7, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) reached an agreement with plaintiffs in a pending lawsuit concerning free speech for churches. In a joint motion, the parties asked the court to settle the dispute, reinterpreting the Johnson Amendment and clarifying that churches are no longer restricted from speaking about political issues or candidates. In August 2024, the National Religious Broadcasters Association and two Texas churches sued the IRS, arguing that
FRANKLIN — Compared to a decade ago, pastors have less training in counseling but are more hesitant to refer church members to professionals. A recent Lifeway Research study examining the rate at which evangelical and Black Protestant pastors leave the ministry also asked pastors about their experience with counseling, both in their ministry preparation and practice. Sponsored by Houston’s First Baptist Church and Richard Dockins, an occupational medicine physician concerned about pastoral attrition,
CLEVELAND, S.C. — When Joseph Hudson was called as minister of music at First Baptist Church Cleveland, S.C., in 2010, he wanted to get to know the members of his new congregation. “Some of my mentors in ministry had advised me that to be successful in ministry, you need to love your people,” he recalled. Before you love them, you have to know them, Hudson added. Little did he know
BRENTWOOD — Lifeway Christian Resources trustees named an interim CEO and began the initial steps to search for a successor to President and CEO Ben Mandrell during a special-called meeting July 15. Trustees have asked Lifeway’s Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Joe Walker to serve as interim president and CEO until a new president is named, in accordance with Lifeway’s bylaws. Walker will serve in the role held
BRENTWOOD – Few pastors leave the pulpit each year, but those who do mostly say it was a personal decision. According to a Lifeway Research study of
BRENTWOOD – As students head back to the classroom, they’re likely to see the impact of local churches in their schools this year. According to
NASHVILLE (BP) – Cooperative Program giving in July came in more than 6 percent below budget, while designated giving showed a marked increase over July
NASHVILLE (BP) – Brent Leatherwood has resigned as president of the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, ending nearly nine years of service that
Each week, headlines tell us pastors are burnt out. They’re leaving the ministry. They’re throwing in the towel. Pastoral ministry is too hard on the
Almost 10 years after the Supreme Court granted national recognition to same-sex marriages, most Americans support that right, but the percentage has plateaued in recent
On July 7, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) reached an agreement with plaintiffs in a pending lawsuit concerning free speech for churches. In a joint motion,
FRANKLIN — Compared to a decade ago, pastors have less training in counseling but are more hesitant to refer church members to professionals. A recent Lifeway
CLEVELAND, S.C. — When Joseph Hudson was called as minister of music at First Baptist Church Cleveland, S.C., in 2010, he wanted to get to
BRENTWOOD — Lifeway Christian Resources trustees named an interim CEO and began the initial steps to search for a successor to President and CEO Ben
