NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) – Compensation for full-time Southern Baptist pastors has not kept pace with inflation over the past two years, while salaries for other full-time ministers and office staff increased at a rate higher than national inflation. These findings are part of the SBC Church Compensation Study, an in-depth survey of 12,907 staff members in Southern Baptist churches. Baptist state conventions along with LifeWay Research and GuideStone Financial Resources conduct this survey … [Read more...]
Court considers pastors’ housing allowance
CHICAGO (BP) – Supporters of the ministerial housing allowance should be hopeful about a federal appeals court’s anticipated ruling on the 60-year-old provision, a religious liberty lawyer said after oral arguments in the case. The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago appeared Sept. 9 to lean toward either dismissing the case because the allowance’s challengers lack legal standing or upholding the allowance as constitutional, a lawyer with the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty … [Read more...]
Reacting to NFL controversies
By now you’ve undoubtedly heard about the horrific video of Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice knocking his then-fiancée unconscious inside a casino elevator. The Ravens have terminated Rice’s contract, and the NFL has placed him on indefinite suspension. Rice’s actions were reprehensible, and the NFL’s handling of the matter at this point has been questionable at best, and shameful at worst. Now, what should Christians make of all this? The first thing is perhaps the hardest but … [Read more...]
Larry Lewis: leading SBC to support life
Dr. Larry Lewis was shocked when in 1979 he opened a St. Louis newspaper to see the full-page ad listing the religious denominations and groups who favored a “pro-choice” – a pro-abortion – position. He learned that the ad was also in other major newspapers throughout the country. In that listing “… right along with the Unitarians … ” was the Southern Baptist Convention, the nation’s largest protestant denomination! This shock set him in motion. He discovered and was further … [Read more...]
ERLC: Town’s sign code violates church freedom
WASHINGTON (BP) -- The Southern Baptist Convention's religious freedom entity has called for the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down a municipal sign ordinance it says violates a church's free speech and assembly rights. The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC) joined in a friend-of-the-court brief filed Sept. 22 that contends the sign code of Gilbert, Ariz., discriminates against churches while favoring political and ideological messages. The brief, filed by the Christian … [Read more...]
Ferguson: National Day of Prayer bus sparks prayers for unity
FERGUSON – When the National Day of Prayer (NDP) bus stopped at First Baptist Church Ferguson Sept. 13, the prayer warriors moved beyond their planned emphasis and prayed for unity. According to Dion Elmore, the NDP task force conducted more than 43,000 prayer activities this year through their many volunteers across the country. “We want to pray strategically and intentionally,” Elmore, director of public relations for the NDP task force, said. “We’ve taken our bus into 34 states and … [Read more...]
MBC asks Supreme Court for a sign – of freedom
The Missouri Baptist Convention has filed a brief in the U.S. Supreme Court in joining other religious groups asking for a sign – that religious freedom trumps local sign codes which discriminate against churches and church plants. The case, Reed v. Town of Gilbert, originating the Phoenix area, is potentially the most important religious freedom case on the Supreme Court's docket in the new term beginning Oct. 6. Michael and Jonathan Whitehead, a father-son legal team in Kansas City, … [Read more...]
Send Experience Tour coming to St. Louis, Oct. 6
ST. LOUIS – God is on the move in North America and every follower of Jesus –regardless of age, talent or personality –can play a vital part in what He is doing to push back lostness on the continent. That’s the life-altering message behind the free Send North America Experience (SNA EXP) Tour coming to St. Louis on Oct. 6 from 7-9 p.m. at First Baptist Church Arnold (2012 Missouri State Rd.). “The Send North America Experience Tour is a series of events in cities across North America … [Read more...]
Tim Tebow joins ‘Good Morning America’
NASHVILLE (BP) – Tim Tebow, the popular former college and pro quarterback revered and criticized for his Christian faith and his on-the-field prayers that coined the word “Tebowing,” continues to make headlines this year as a football commentator – and now as a morning show contributor. Tebow, an analyst for the SEC Network and ESPN, has signed on with “Good Morning America,” ABC News announced Thursday (Sept. 11). A member of First Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Fla., Tebow will be a … [Read more...]
Stand for religious liberty
NASHVILLE (BP) – Southern Baptists must boldly proclaim the Gospel as they fight for religious freedom in the United States and globally, David Platt said in an interview conducted by the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission. Platt, newly elected International Mission Board president, participated in an interview with Dan Darling, vice president of communications for the ERLC, focusing on religious persecution. The ERLC posted the interview, which took place during … [Read more...]
CP ‘takes the attention off ourselves’
BRISTOL, Fla. (BP) – Local lore – spun by a Baptist preacher in the 1950s – has it that the Garden of Eden may have been in the Southeast. The Apalachicola River that flows near the town of Bristol, Fla., has four main tributaries akin to what Genesis 2:10 recounts. A rare species of evergreen called gopher wood grows on the Apalachicola's banks – – the same species that Noah used to build the ark, according to Genesis 6:14. The Rev. Elvy E. Callaway "claimed that only two rivers in the … [Read more...]
Mohler: Osteen message ‘aims for so little’
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (BP) – The evangelical world, joined by no shortage of secular observers, has been abuzz about the latest soundbite of note from the Pastors Osteen – this time offered by Victoria Osteen as her husband Joel beamed in the background. In her message, Victoria Osteen tells their massive congregation to realize that their devotion to God is not really about God, but about themselves. “I just want to encourage every one of us to realize when we obey God, we’re not doing it for … [Read more...]
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