By David Roach, Baptist Press DALLAS (BP) - The Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee will hold a special called meeting in Dallas April 2 to vote on a presidential nominee, EC chairman Mike Stone announced March 19. The EC's presidential search committee "has confirmed a nominee," Stone said in an email to the full EC. The nominee's name will be announced March 31. The special called meeting, to be held at the Grand Hyatt at the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport, "will include a report from the search committee, a question and answer session with the nominee, and a committee vote on the nomination. The meeting, primarily held in executive session will begin at 11 a.m. and is anticipated to conclude by 3 p.m.," said Stone, pastor of Emmanuel Baptist Church in Blackshear, Ga. According to Article 6 of the EC Bylaws, "the committee shall offer to the board of trustees, in a meeting of the board held in executive session, a nominee for the office of president." No other nominations may be offered at the meeting, and the nominee must receive "a majority vote of [the EC members] present" to be elected. The vote will be taken by written ballot. The seven-member presidential search committee announced in February it … [Read more...]

By Global Baptist Response NASHVILLE –Baptist Global Response, a Southern Baptist humanitarian aid organization, is challenging Southern Baptists to take on its third annual Well Dig Dare. In 2018, BGR supporters raised over $30,000, providing 30 wells for communities in need. In 2019 the organization's goal is increase once again and raise $40,000 for 40 wells and water systems. In conjunction with World Water Day, BGR will launch the Well Dig Dare on March 22. Donors are challenged to raise $1,000, which is about the cost of one well and will have until April 30th to reach their fundraising goal. This year, participants will have access to online resources where they can choose to make a donation or fundraise with others. “Last year, generous friends of BGR provided over 800 total community water systems around the world. This gave clean water to almost 250,000 people!” says Jeff Palmer, BGR CEO. “About 30 of these wells came from partners who participated in the Well Dig Dare program. This year, we would like to provide 40 wells through our 2019 Well Dig Dare initiative. That will give clean water and the hope of living water to almost 8,000 people! It is always a wonderful experience to see a community turn on the … [Read more...]

By Roy Hayhurst, GuideStone Financial Resources A three-judge panel of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago ruled that the minister’s housing allowance is constitutional under two landmark legal precedents, reversing a lower court’s ruling that declared the minister’s cash housing allowance unconstitutional because it violated the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment. That ruling — issued December 31, 2017 — had been stayed until 180 days after all appeals were exhausted. The same lower court had made a similar ruling in 2013 that was overturned on appeal in 2014. In oral arguments in October 2018 in Chicago, Justice Department attorney Jesse Panuccio defended the housing allowance as constitutional, arguing that it satisfies the requirements of Lemon v. Kurtzman, a 1971 United States Supreme Court decision that articulated a three-prong test for determining whether a legislative act violates the Establishment Clause. He also argued that the provision is constitutional under Town of Greece v. Galloway, a 2013 Supreme Court decision regarding prayers before the opening of a legislative session that suggested that Establishment Clause challenges must be viewed by reference to historical practices and … [Read more...]