Telling the Story of Tennessee Baptists Since 1835
June 15, 2020
By Tom Strode Baptist Press WASHINGTON — The U.S. Supreme Court issued a watershed decision on gay and transgender rights today (June 15) by finding longstanding, non-discrimination protections in federal workplace law cover “sexual orientation” and “gender identity.” The justices ruled in a 6-3 opinion the category “sex” in Title VII of the 1964 Civil […]
June 10, 2020
By Diana Chandler Baptist Press DURHAM, N.C. — Promoting diversity, unity, missions and sex abuse prevention are goals the Southern Baptist Convention must continue to pursue in order to put the “Gospel Above All,” SBC president J.D. Greear said in his 2020 presidential address on June 9. Speaking from his office at The Summit Church […]
June 10, 2020
By Caroline Anderson IMB writer On June 9, the International Mission Board commissioned 61 missionaries in a virtual Sending Celebration. The missionaries represent churches in 15 states and will be serving in all nine of the IMB’s affinities. Sending Celebrations provide a forum for Southern Baptists to commission new missionaries and hear their call to […]
June 10, 2020
By Tess Schoonhoven Baptist Press CLINTON, Miss. — Tiki Broome, interim student pastor at First Baptist Church of Yazoo City, Miss., woke up on the morning of June 2 to find a racial slur keyed into the side of his car. Broome, who said he had been outspoken about racial injustice, had recently received some […]
June 1, 2020
By Baptist Press staff NASHVILLE — Southern Baptist leaders have published a statement grieving the recent death of George Floyd and calling for the end of “racial inequity in the distribution of justice in our country.” The statement, co-authored by SBC president J.D. Greear and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary president Jamie Dew, was unanimously […]
May 29, 2020
By Diana Chandler Baptist Press MINNEAPOLIS — Southern Baptist leaders are lamenting the death of George Floyd, a black man who died in Minneapolis after a white police officer used a knee to pin his neck to the pavement for several minutes. Floyd had repeatedly said he could not breathe. “I am disturbed, brokenhearted, and […]
May 27, 2020
By Tobin Perry Southern Baptist TEXAN HOUSTON — Listening to the discussion surrounding the reopening of churches, Steve Bezner could see much of it revolved around a dichotomy of faith versus fear. As Bezner, pastor of Houston Northwest Church, and other church leaders studied the issue from a variety of angles, they began to see […]
May 27, 2020
By Tess Schoonhoven Baptist Press ATLANTA — As the state of Georgia continues on a path to reopening, Christ Covenant Church is cautiously planning to resume in-person gatherings. But decisions about when and how to return are complicated by where. Christ Covenant has called Sutton Middle School its Sunday home for 2 1/2 years. The […]
May 27, 2020
By Tom Strode Baptist Press WASHINGTON — Southern Baptist leaders commended to churches the new federal guidelines for restoring in-person worship gatherings during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, even as efforts to resolve conflicts between state governments and faith communities continue. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued interim guidelines May 22 that reminded […]
May 26, 2020
By Tom Strode Baptist Press WASHINGTON — Southern Baptist leaders are urging government officials to treat churches and other religious groups more justly in their reopening policies regarding the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The calls for change came after churches in Minnesota and California told their governors they would begin holding in-person services in defiance of […]
May 19, 2020
Baptist Press NASHVILLE — While the 2020 SBC Annual Meeting has been canceled for the first time since 1945, Southern Baptists will still be provided with an opportunity to hear from the entities of the Southern Baptist Convention through an online event June 2 hosted by the SBC Executive Committee. SBC Advance, a two-hour online […]
May 16, 2020
Baptist Press staff RICHMOND, Va. — During a virtual meeting May 13-14, trustees of the International Mission Board approved the appointment of 59 new missionaries and received an update on the impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic, which has contributed directly to a shortfall of about $4 million in the IMB’s budget and necessitated spending […]