By Shawn Hendricks Baptist Press NASHVILLE (BP) — It was a year of unexpected election outcomes, race-related violence, ongoing global terrorism and natural disasters. It also was another year of controversial comments and consequences. In 2016, the most-read Baptist Press story was one about a popular author and speaker who sparked a firestorm for statements she made in an interview about gay marriage. This year’s list of stories, compiled by

By Bob Smietana Lifeway News Office NASHVILLE — More than half of Americans plan to go to church at Christmastime. And most Protestant pastors will keep the doors open for them. Nearly nine out of 10 Protestant senior pastors say their churches plan to hold services on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day, as both fall on a Sunday, according to research from Nashville-based LifeWay Christian Research. More than 7

By Bob Smietana Facts & Trends, LifeWay NASHVILLE (BP) — The American Medical Association has described physician-assisted suicide as a serious risk to society and “fundamentally incompatible with a physician’s role as healer.” But Millions of Americans disagree, according to a new study released Tuesday (Dec. 6) by LifeWay Research. Two-thirds say it is morally acceptable for terminally ill patients to ask their doctors for help in ending their lives,

By Tom Strode Baptist Press WASHINGTON (BP) — A federal judge has blocked a looming Department of Labor overtime rule considered burdensome by Southern Baptist and other nonprofit entities. Amos Mazzant, a judge in the Eastern District of Texas, issued a nationwide temporary injunction Tuesday (Nov. 22) to prevent enforcement of a DOL regulation that would have increased the number of workers eligible for time-and-a-half overtime pay by more than

By David Roach Baptist Press NASHVILLE (BP) — Eight of the nine states with marijuana-related ballot measures Nov. 8 expanded legalization of the drug. Of the five states to consider recreational marijuana legalization for adults, only Arizona rejected it. California, Massachusetts, Maine and Nevada all voted in favor of legalization. All four states to consider medical marijuana — Arkansas, Florida, Montana and North Dakota — voted either to legalize or