By Bob Smietana Lifeway Research NASHVILLE — When it comes to domestic violence, Protestant pastors want to be helpful but often don’t know where to start. Most say their church would be a safe haven for victims of domestic violence. But many don’t know if anyone in their church has been a victim of domestic violence. And only half say they have a plan in place to help if a

LifeWay Research NASHVILLE — Investigating claims of domestic violence can backfire for churches, said radio host and speaker Autumn Miles, who partnered with LifeWay Research on a study about churches and domestic violence. Miles, a past victim of domestic abuse, said it’s difficult for victims to come forward and ask a church for help. And when they do, they often need immediate assistance. They can’t wait for a church to

Editor’s Note: One of the victims in the accident was Addie Maurine Schmeltekopf. She was the sister of Carrol Kelly, who retired as executive director of Tennessee Woman’s Missionary Union in 2001. By Diana Chandler Baptist Press NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas (BP) — “Death could not hold Him,” proclaims the website of First Baptist Church of New Braunfels, Texas. The bright Easter message of Jesus’ resurrection sits just above the tragic

By David Roach Baptist Press RALEIGH, N.C. (BP) — North Carolina legislators have repealed a controversial law that required individuals in state buildings to use restrooms corresponding to the gender indicated on their birth certificates. The repeal of House Bill 2 today (March 30) marked a compromise between Democrats and Republicans and culminated more than a year of contentious debate since the bill’s passage in April 2016. North Carolina’s senate

Baptist Press PHOENIX (BP) — Southern Baptist Convention President Steve Gaines has named the members of the Committee on Resolutions for the June 13-14 SBC annual meeting in Phoenix. Gaines, pastor of Memphis-area Bellevue Baptist Church, appointed the committee in keeping with the provision in SBC Bylaw 20 that its members be named 75 days prior to the start of the annual meeting. Gaines named Barrett Duke of Montana as

By David Roach Baptist Press ORGAN, N.M. (BP) — With numerous dilapidated buildings and only 323 residents according to the 2010 U.S. census, Organ, N.M., appears on at least one website listing American ghost towns. But Pastor Mitch Newton prefers to think of it as a Holy Ghost town because of the surprising work God has done through the town’s Baptist church. Over the past three years, Faith Christian Fellowship

By Diana Chandler Baptist Press NASHVILLE — A group tasked with encouraging and teaching disciple-making among Southern Baptist churches will extend its work an additional year, task force chairman Robby Gallaty told Baptist Press. Gallaty, hosting a task force meeting here March 9, said the group will not issue a report at the 2017 Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in Phoenix. The task force will instead seek an additional year

By David Roach Baptist Press NASHVILLE (BP) — An extended statement by Russell Moore and the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission executive committee, “Seeking Unity in the Southern Baptist Convention,” has drawn praise from SBC President Steve Gaines and former SBC President Jack Graham among others. Meanwhile, Christian worldview analyst John Stonestreet said in a radio interview that controversy surrounding Moore, the ERLC’s president, gives Southern Baptists an opportunity to