By Art Toalston, Baptist Press WASHINGTON (BP) -- Russell Moore spoke and Donald Trump took notice in one of his Twitter posts today (May 9). Trump's tweet came the morning after Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, criticized the presumptive Republican nominee on CBS' "Face the Nation" and, two days earlier, in a New York Times online op-ed. "@drmoore Russell Moore is truly a terrible representative of Evangelicals and all of the good they stand for. A nasty guy with no heart!" Trump tweeted at 5:05 a.m. May 9. Trump's tweet quickly stirred diverse reactions among outspoken Southern Baptists, from pro-Trump pastor Robert Jeffress of First Baptist Church in Dallas to several Baptist leaders who affirmed Moore's comments. Moore was one of several "key conservatives," as described by Face the Nation host John Dickerson, interviewed on the Sunday morning talk show. Moore said character matters as much now as it did during "the previous Clinton era," an era when, as Moore has said on previous occasions, conservatives were outraged over former President Bill Clinton's sexual behavior in the White House. Some conservatives "now are not willing to say anything when we have this sort … [Read more...]

By Gregory  Tomlin, Christian Examiner WASHINGTON (Christian Examiner) – On the same day many Americans of different faiths were praying – on the National Day of Prayer May 5 – the Freedom from Religion Foundation was filing a lawsuit against U.S. House of Representatives Chaplain Patrick Conroy. According to the lawsuit, Father Conroy, a Jesuit Catholic priest, would not allow FFRF's Co-President Dan Barker, a former minister who now professes atheism, to offer a "secular" invocation before the House. Barker had been invited in February 2015 to offer the invocation by Rep. Mark Pocan, who represents the district of Madison, Wisconsin. Almost a year later (in January 2016), Conroy's office notified Barker he could not deliver the invocation because the chaplain's office requires guest chaplains to be ordained and submit an ordination certificate and the content of their prayer, which must at least reference a "higher power." To read the rest of the article, click here. … [Read more...]

By Gregory Tomlin, Christian Examiner RALEIGH, N.C. (Christian Examiner) – The Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has fired off a terse letter to the governor of North Carolina over House Bill 2, the state's recently passed law which prohibits men from using women's multi-occupancy restrooms and vice versa – a law LGBT advocates claim is discriminatory against transgenders. In the May 4 letter to Gov. Pat McCrory, the DOJ claims the state and the governor are in breach of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 after it passed (and he signed into law) HB 2. Title VII, the letter said, prohibits discrimination against transgenders. "Specifically," the DOJ letter said, "the State is engaging in a pattern or practice of discrimination against transgender state employees and both you [the governor], in your official capacity, and the State are engaging in a pattern or practice of resistance to the full enjoyment of Title VII rights by transgender employees of public agencies." To read the rest of the article, click here. … [Read more...]

NASHVILLE (BP) -- The schedule for this year's Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting program was released this week by the SBC Executive Committee. TUESDAY MORNING, JUNE 14, 2016 8:15 Opening Worship -- Julio Arriola, Convention music director; global worship pastor, Cross Church, Northwest Arkansas 8:25 Welcome and Call to Order -- Ronnie Floyd, SBC president; senior pastor, Cross Church, Northwest Arkansas Announcement of Committee on Committees, Credentials Committee, Tellers and Resolutions Committee 8:30 Scripture -- David Prince, pastor of preaching and vision, Ashland Avenue Baptist Church, Lexington, Ky. Prayer -- Sean Boone, lead pastor, New Beginning Christian Fellowship, St. Louis, Mo. 8:35 Registration Report and Constitution of Convention -- Jim Wells, SBC registration secretary; Crossway Baptist Church, Springfield, Mo. 8:38 Committee on Order of Business Report (First) -- Andrew Hebert, chairman; lead pastor, Taylor Memorial Baptist Church, Hobbs, N.M. 8:43 Appreciation of St. Louis Volunteers -- Ronnie Floyd 8:45 Welcome to St. Louis -- Joe Costephens, pastor, First Baptist Church, Ferguson, Mo.; Kenny Petty, church planting strategist, PlantMidwest; senior pastor, The Gate Church, St. Louis 8:50 … [Read more...]

By Staff, Baptist Press ST. LOUIS (BP) -- John Avant, pastor of First Baptist Concord in Knoxville, Tenn., will be nominated for president of the Southern Baptist Convention Pastors' Conference, according to an announcement by fellow Tennessee pastor Steve Gaines. Gaines, pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Cordova, Tenn., stated in an April 27 announcement to Baptist Press: "I have known John Avant for over 30 years. We were in the Ph.D. program together at Southwestern Seminary in the 1980s. We both served as pastors of Southern Baptist churches in Texas at that same time. He is a man of Christ-like character. He has experienced personal revival as well as revival in his churches. He is a devoted husband and father, a Gospel preacher, a loving pastor, a soul winner and a servant leader. "Having served as the president of the SBC Pastors' Conference myself in 2005," Gaines said, "I am fully aware of the responsibilities of that position, and I am confident that Dr. Avant will do a wonderful job serving all Southern Baptist pastors." A former vice president for evangelization at the North American Mission Board, Avant has pastored seven churches in Georgia, Louisiana, Tennessee and Texas. Gaines said Avant "is known for the … [Read more...]

By Erich Bridges, Christian Examiner RICHMOND, Va. (Christian Examiner) – George Turner, 23-year-old seminary freshman, thinks he's ready to step in for the senior pastor at his church. It's not that Rev. Price is burned out. He's just, well, a little stale. His preaching is too predictable. Worship style? Yawn. "I just think we need to be more tactile and relational," young Turner observed. "I've experienced deep connections with the mystery of the dance of God burning incense in my dorms." Rev. Price, out on a hospital visit, was unavailable for comment. Turner and Price aren't real, by the way. They're fictional characters invented by the Babylon Bee, a satirical website that lampoons church topics. But they hit uncomfortably close to home when it comes to the generational changing of the guard in churches across America. Baby boomer pastors and lay leaders are beginning to hand the reins over to Millennials in thousands of churches. But the hand-off isn't necessarily going smoothly – on either end. The generational struggle goes deeper than the well-documented "worship wars" over hymnbooks versus praise choruses, traditional versus contemporary worship or shirt-tails and jeans versus coats and ties. The underlying … [Read more...]

By Michael Foust, Christian Examiner TUPELO, Miss. – A petition pledging a boycott of Target over its new bathroom policy reached an incredible 1 million names Thursday night, even as faith bloggers debated whether the protest itself is a good idea. The boycott was launched April 20 and is being led by the American Family Association, which is hosting a petition that reads: "Target's store policy endangers women and children by allowing men to frequent women's facilities. Until Target makes the safety of women and children a priority, I will shop elsewhere." Support for the petition hit 1 million names Thursday in its ninth day, a feat boosted by the petition going viral on social media. Under the new store policy, customers can use the restroom that corresponds to their chosen gender. But it is the lack of details that has opponents particularly upset. Specifically, can a man simply walk into the women's restroom if he so chooses, even with women and young girls present? Target was asked an almost identical question on its Facebook page but did not give a direct answer. When a Washington state open-bathroom law went into effect this year, a man walked into a Seattle public pool locker room and refused to leave, even when … [Read more...]

By Gregory Tomlin, Christian Examiner MIDDLETON, Wisc. (Christian Examiner) – Protestors descended on a student- and parent-led lunchtime Bible discussion in a public park next to a Wisconsin high school Tuesday in an effort to stop the assembly. For the first time since the event adjacent to Middleton High School began in Fireman's Park in 2014, the "Jesus Lunch" was met with calls for "separation of church and state" and shouts of protest about white Christians being divisive at the school. Those students who protested, the Wisconsin State Journal claimed, were supported by the atheist Freedom from Religion Foundaiton (though the paper referred to FFRF as "secular"). To read the rest of the article, click here. … [Read more...]