BARNA RESEARCH: PASTORS FEELING LESS CONFIDENT ABOUT SPIRITUAL CALLINGS
VENTURA, Calif. — Protestant pastors are less satisfied with their jobs and church assignments and less confident in their spiritual callings, Barna research said in its latest study on pastoral resilience. (See related story and a column from Sing Oldham). Only 52 percent of pastors are “very satisfied” with their jobs, only 50 percent are […]
SO MUCH FOR RESTORING CREDIBILITY
Editor’s Note: This editorial was published on Saturday, April 29 — two days prior to the EC’s rejection of the nomination of Jared Wellman. FRANKLIN — The prospect of Jared Wellman being elected Monday, May 1, by the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee (EC) to serve as its president/CEO does nothing to restore the credibility […]
‘HEARTBROKEN’: TORNADO HITS OBU CAMPUS AS STORMS LEAVE TRAIL OF DAMAGE
SHAWNEE — Within hours of Oklahoma Baptist University in Shawnee sustaining severe tornado damage on April 19, Oklahoma Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers were onsite assessing damage. In Oklahoma, at least three deaths were reported as a result of storms that slammed the central part of the state. OBU described damage to the campus as “significant,” […]
TWO TEENS CHARGED IN DADEVILLE MASS SHOOTING
As the Dadeville community continues to mourn the death of four teens killed in the April 15 mass shooting at a Sweet 16 birthday party, two suspects have been arrested and are facing multiple charges. Authorities announced the charges during a press conference Wednesday morning (April 19). The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency identified the two […]
FORMER UNION PRESIDENT ELECTED TO LEAD SWBTS
FORT WORTH, Texas — Former Union University president David S. Dockery was elected 10th president and Southern Baptist leader O.S. Hawkins was elected to the new role of chancellor during the spring meeting of the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary board of trustees on April 19. The unanimous elections of Dockery and Hawkins to their new […]
LEATHERWOOD CALLS ON TN LAWMAKERS TO ACT ON GUN VIOLENCE
NASHVILLE – Telling them they have an obligation “to oppose evil and protect innocent lives”, newly installed Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission president Brent Leatherwood sent a letter to the Lt. Gov., House Speaker and every member of the Tennessee state legislature on Monday calling them to support a proposal by Gov. Bill Lee. Leatherwood revealed on […]
CHARLES STANLEY, PIVOTAL SBC PRESIDENT, TV PREACHER, DIES
ATLANTA – Charles Stanley, a former Southern Baptist Convention president and one of the nation’s foremost television and radio preachers, passed away peacefully at his home on April 18 at age 90. Stanley presided over the two largest annual meetings in SBC history — 45,531 messengers in 1985 in Dallas and 40,987 in 1986 in […]
SYRIANS WEATHER EARTHQUAKES AFTER DECADES OF DEVASTATION
For Syrians, the world has been crumbling for years, and this February’s earthquakes added mounds to the existing literal and figurative rubble of a nation torn apart by the internal strife of civil war. “The people of Syria have been so broken by war and the desperate situation there for over a decade now,” said […]
TENNESSEAN TOM STRODE RETIRES FROM ERLC POST
WASHINGTON — When God called a young sportswriter named Tom Strode to ministry 40 years ago, Strode thought that meant leaving journalism forever. But God had other plans. After serving several years on staff at Bellevue Baptist Church in Cordova, Strode became Washington bureau chief for Baptist Press. Thirty-two years later, he’s still the Washington […]
SBC EC CALLS MAY 1 SPECIAL MEETING TO CONSIDER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE
NASHVILLE — The search for a new president and CEO of the SBC Executive Committee (EC) may be nearing a completion. The EC will hold a special-called meeting on May 1 in Dallas to consider a recommendation from the search team. “Over the last 14 months, the search team has diligently prayed, discussed, and worked […]