For the past 50 years, in some form or another, I have had the privilege of serving in ministry in the Southern Baptist Convention. While I now serve as interim president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, I have pastored churches in Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky and Virginia, and most recently, retired as executive director of the South Carolina Baptist Convention. The financial strain of retirement While a privilege to bear, the demands on pastors are great. For most, … [Read more...]
EXPLAINER: Protecting children through the 2026 Chloe Cole Act
EDITOR'S NOTE: The Pathway added reporting at the end of this article, noting that Chloe Cole will speak at Hannibal-LaGrange University, March 25. See more below, or visit the HLGU website here. For many opponents of our nation’s cultural embrace of radical gender ideology, the past several months have been a welcomed reprieve from the madness and a return to truth. Once sworn into office, President Trump began repealing Biden-era policies that pushed gender ideology into every corner … [Read more...]
Bills criminalizing protests during worship services proceed through states
EDITOR'S NOTE: For more on these issues, read "Protesting: How should churches respond?" here. MONTGOMERY, Ala. (BP) – A bill that passed the Alabama House of Representatives on Feb. 24 and criminalizes disrupting a worship service is one of several that states are considering after a protest inside a Southern Baptist church last month. “This protects houses of worship – not just churches, but synagogues, mosques, others – from any outside group organizing to come into their building … [Read more...]
Trump talks faith, gender transitions, IVF in State of the Union
WASHINGTON (BP) – The contemporary revival of American society includes revivals of faith and traditional morality, President Donald Trump said Feb. 24 in his State of the Union address. The nearly two-hour speech, the longest State of the Union in 60 years, argued Americans should stick with Republican control of Congress in this year’s midterm elections. In the process, Trump touched on a variety of issues traditionally of interest to Southern Baptists and other evangelicals, including … [Read more...]
Major medical group comes out against gender transition for minors
ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. (BP) – The American Society of Plastic Surgeons has issued a statement recommending its members delay gender-reassignment surgeries for patients until the age of 19. The statement cited adolescents’ developing emotional and mental states, juxtaposed with the permanence of such surgeries, for a “low certainty” that transitioning at that age brought “a favorable risk-benefit ratio.” The position was approved by the board of directors for the ASPS and its research … [Read more...]
HLGU legal settlement secures right of Christians to establish schools that reflect faith
HANNIBAL (HLGU) – Hannibal-LaGrange University (HLGU) announced, Feb. 6, the resolution of its federal lawsuit against the Department of Education. This landmark settlement protects the constitutional right of Baptists to establish and maintain schools that reflect their faith, doctrine and values, without being forced to abandon their commitments to provide affordable education. Under a prior administration, federal regulators applied a rule designed for for-profit colleges to Christian … [Read more...]
International adoptions resume on case-by-case approval basis under new exception
WASHINGTON (BP) – International adoptions that were halted for about 300 U.S. families can resume on a case-by-case approval basis after the U.S. State Department granted a National Interest Exception impacting immigrant adoptees from more than 70 countries. But the exception is only an incremental improvement that still “leaves a window for the possibility of visa applications to be denied,” Karla Thrasher, vice president of international ministries for Lifeline Children’s Services, … [Read more...]
Trump, pro-life leaders at odds in recent developments
NASHVILLE (BP) – The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission released a letter today (Jan. 16) calling for President Trump’s action on recent issues that have brought friction between the pro-life movement and an administration historically supportive of it. The letter is signed by interim ERLC President Gary Hollingsworth, who begins by stating that the sanctity of life “remains a preeminent priority” among millions of Southern Baptists, who, coincidentally, will observe Sanctity of … [Read more...]
U.S. Supreme Court hears cases of transgender athletes
WASHINGTON (BP) – The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday (Jan.13) in two cases regarding state laws seeking to clarify competition in sports according to biological sex. Both cases (West Virginia v. B.P.J. and Little v. Hecox) involve biological males challenging state laws which barred them from competing on female sports teams. The latter involves Lindsay Hecox (24) who filed suit when seeking to join the women’s track and field and cross country teams at Boise State … [Read more...]
MBC’s Vance calls state leaders to depend on God, walk in humility, integrity and wisdom
JEFFERSON CITY – Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) President Wesley Vance called the state’s political leaders to depend on God and walk in wisdom, integrity and humility as they serve Missourians. Vance was the guest speaker, Jan. 7, for the prayer service for Missouri government leaders that takes place at Concord Baptist Church each year. He called public servants to model their lives after the biblical prophet Daniel, a public servant in his own day, who looked to God as "the way, the … [Read more...]
‘We’re going to save lives’: Sen. Schnelting, MBC’s Fowler discuss 2026 pro-life ballot measure
EDITOR’S NOTE: Sanctity of Life Sunday is scheduled for Sunday, Jan. 18. JEFFERSON CITY – Missouri Baptist Convention (MBC) Executive Director Wes Fowler sat down with state Senator Adam Schnelting (R-St. Charles) on Jan. 7 for a public dialogue about a Missouri ballot initiative that will aim this fall to restore pro-life protections to the state’s Constitution. The dialogue took place at Concord Baptist Church in Jefferson City. In 2019, Schnelting amended a pro-life bill, adding a … [Read more...]
Baptist leaders urge hope, prayer for Venezuela after Maduro’s removal
NASHVILLE (BP) – As the U.S extraction of now-former President Nicólas Maduro brought widespread celebration among Venezuelans amid pockets of protest inside and outside the country, Baptist leaders are calling on others to keep the country in consistent prayer for peace now and in times ahead. The Venezuelan National Baptist Convention released a statement Jan. 3, the same day as the pre-dawn American military operation, calling for others to “remain in prayer before the throne of … [Read more...]
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