By Brandon Elrod Baptist Press ALPHARETTA, Ga. — Hurricane Iota has sights set on Central America, making it the second major hurricane to hit the region following Hurricane Eta’s Nov. 3 landfall. Iota is the 13th hurricane and record-breaking 30th named storm during an historic 2020 hurricane season. Eta took the lives of dozens of people after generating landslides and flooding, and Iota arrived in northern Nicaragua Monday night (Nov.

By Aaron Earls LifeWay News Office NASHVILLE — After a few years of economic optimism, pastors say the 2020 economy is hurting their congregation. According to a new survey from Nashville-based LifeWay Research, almost half of U.S. Protestant pastors (48 percent) say the current economy is negatively impacting their church, including 5 percent who say the impact is very negative. Around 1 in 6 (15 percent) believe the economy has

By Diana Chandler Baptist Press SALEM, Ore. — Oregon will become the first state in the nation to decriminalize possession of small amounts of drugs including Oxycodone, cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine beginning in February 2021. Voters approved the measure on Election Day by a margin of 58.6-41.4 percent and concurrently approved by 66.7-33.3 percent a new tax on tobacco and E-cigarettes to fund treatment programs in place of incarceration for

By Tom Strode Baptist Press WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate confirmed Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court in a nearly party-line vote Monday evening (Oct. 26), and Southern Baptist leaders focused on prayer for the new justice. The Senate voted 52-48 for confirmation of the federal appeals court judge. Only Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, broke from her party, joining with Democrats to oppose the confirmation. Barrett was given the

By George Schroeder Baptist Press NASHVILLE — In response to Pope Francis’ endorsement of same-sex civil unions for the first time as pope, Southern Baptist leaders reiterated their commitment to the authority of the Bible’s teaching regarding sexuality and marriage. Francis’ endorsement came while being interviewed in the documentary “Francesco,” which premiered Wednesday (Oct. 21) at the Rome Film Festival. “Homosexual people have the right to be in a family.