Telling the Story of Tennessee Baptists Since 1835
September 23, 2020
By Diana Chandler Baptist Press NASHVILLE — Decreased giving during the COVID-19 pandemic led the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee to adopt a Cooperative Program Allocation Budget Tuesday (Sept. 22) that is 5 percent less than the committee projected last February. During a special called meeting, the Executive Committee adopted a $186,875,000 CP allocation budget […]
September 14, 2020
By Scott Barkley Christian Index ATLANTA — In a video announcement following the online service at First Baptist Church in Atlanta today, longtime pastor Charles Stanley announced his transition to pastor emeritus. Stanley, who came to First Baptist as an associate pastor in 1969 before being named pastor two years later, informed the church’s board […]
September 9, 2020
By Brian Blackwell Baptist Message DRY CREEK, La. — The winds were still howling as Hurricane Laura blew through Dry Creek Baptist Camp Thursday morning Aug. 27, when camp director Todd Burnaman fielded a welcomed phone call from the pastor of Horeb Baptist Church in Gretna, La., asking how he and his people could lend […]
September 9, 2020
By Will Hall Baptist Message executive editor ALEXANDRIA, La. – While racial tensions continue to claim national headlines, the multi-state disaster relief response to one of the largest hurricanes ever to make landfall in the country is serving as an opportunity to build goodwill between ethnic groups in storm-affected parts of Louisiana. Hurricane Laura came […]
September 8, 2020
By Aaron Earls Writer, LifeWay Christian Resources. NASHVILLE — More than half of Americans say religious beliefs are a matter of personal opinion, not objective facts. And that’s made clear by examining the varying, and sometimes contradictory, theological doctrines they hold. The biennial State of Theology study from Nashville-based LifeWay Research explores the religious and […]
September 7, 2020
By John Kyle Louisiana Baptist director of communications ALEXANDRIA, La. — A little more than a week after slamming the Louisiana coast, it is obvious Hurricane Laura’s 140 miles per hour, Category 4, winds considered nothing sacred, including houses of worship. Numerous reports have shed light on the hundreds of thousands of Louisianans left without […]
August 26, 2020
By Carol Pipes Director of corporate communications for LifeWay NASHVILLE — During a virtual meeting on August 25, LifeWay Christian Resources trustees received an update on the impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic on the organization and unanimously approved a $210 million budget for the 2020-2021 fiscal year — 17 percent lower than the 2019-20 […]
August 24, 2020
By George Schroeder Baptist Press LYNCHBURG, Va. —After drama, denial and dispute, it’s official: Jerry Falwell Jr. has resigned as president of Liberty University. The school announced his departure Tuesday (Aug. 25), saying Liberty’s board of trustees had accepted his resignation. The move came amid escalating controversy over Falwell’s conduct, as well as allegations that […]
August 24, 2020
By Diana Chandler Baptist Press SAN FRANCISCO BAY AREA, Calif. — As monster fires displace tens of thousands of Californians, Southern Baptist disaster relief volunteers are stymied by changes in response protocols necessitated by COVID-19. Before the pandemic, volunteers in relief efforts were able to provide food and chaplains’ assistance to displaced residents housed at […]
August 20, 2020
IMB news office Shirley Clark and her husband, Charles, served as missionaries in Venezuela for more than 30 years. They were appointed in 1951, studied the Spanish language in Costa Rica for one year, then moved to Venezuela as church planters. For more than three decades, they served among the Venezuelans. Charles served in roles including […]
August 20, 2020
By Diana Chandler Baptist Press DALLAS — A Dallas boy whose father says is content as a boy may face transgender therapy after a district court judge gave the child’s mother full conservatorship, according to news reports. Without holding a scheduled hearing, Dallas District Court Judge Mary Brown on Aug. 10 reversed her earlier ruling […]
August 20, 2020
Baptist Press staff WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. — The vehicle of Marilane Carter, a pastor’s wife who’d been missing more than two weeks, was found Aug. 18 with the body of a deceased female inside. Crittenden County Sheriff Mike Allen told Memphis’ WMC-TV a family member discovered the car while searching the area where Carter was […]