By Lonnie Wilkey Editor, Baptist and Reflector RICHMOND, Va. — In the first phase of the International Mission Board’s plan to address revenue shortfalls, leadership announced details of a voluntary retirement incentive (VRI) during town hall meetings with personnel Thursday, Sept. 10. The goal of the plan, IMB leaders shared, is to offer as generous a voluntary retirement incentive as possible, while honoring the years of service of those eligible

By LifeWay Research Most Americans believe they are seeing an epidemic in the United States of people taking their own lives. But most Americans don’t view suicide as a selfish choice, and they don’t believe it sends people to hell, LifeWay Research finds. “Americans are responding with compassion to a tragedy that touches many families,” said Scott McConnell, LifeWay Research vice president. “For example, as researchers learn more about the

By LifeWay Research NASHVILLE—Americans evangelicals remain among the strongest supporters of the nation of Israel.   Most believe God has plans for that nation, both now and in the future. And many of America’s preachers say Christians need to support Israel. Those are among the findings of a study of American attitudes toward Israel and the Bible from Nashville-based LifeWay Research. As part of the study, researchers conducted two separate

By Baptist Press COLUMBUS, Ohio (BP) — Resolutions adopted by the Southern Baptist Convention offer multiple benefits. That was the response of this year’s Resolutions Committee chairman and an SBC ethics leader when asked by a reporter shortly after messengers to the 2015 meeting adopted nine resolutions. In unanimous or nearly unanimous votes during the Tuesday afternoon session (June 16), the convention approved measures on such topics as marriage, racial

By Baptist Press COLUMBUS, Ohio (BP) — Southern Baptist Convention President Ronnie Floyd called for pastoral leadership in the nation’s largest Protestant denomination to seize a “Bonhoeffer moment” by refusing to be silent in the face of persecution, to hold on to the Word of God, take heart and be encouraged. “The lostness has never been greater in our dangerous and hopeless world,” Floyd, pastor of Cross Church in northwest

By Lonnie Wilkey Editor, Baptist and Reflector COLUMBUS, Ohio – With the decision of the United States Supreme Court on whether all states must recognize same-sex marriage still to come, Southern Baptists have made it clear where they stand. Messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in Columbus passed a resolution June 16 that declared that “no matter how the Supreme Court rules, the Southern Baptist Convention reaffirms its

By Baptist Press COLUMBUS, Ohio (BP) — Arkansas pastor Ronnie Floyd was reelected without opposition to a second term as president of the Southern Baptist Convention June 16 during the SBC annual meeting in Columbus, Ohio. Registered messengers totaled 5,277 messengers at the time. Floyd was nominated by North Carolina pastor J.D. Greear, who said, “God’s hand has been upon Brother Ronnie. I believe he is the man God has