By Joni B. Hannigan, Christian Examiner ***This article was previously posted at the Christian Examiner and is used by permission. ATLANTA (Christian Examiner) – Several Southern Baptist state conventions leaders have accused the denomination's North American Mission Board (NAMB) of linking financial support from the national entity — funding for church planting and other ministries — to secretive Cooperative Agreements which include a clause that threatens to withhold ministry funds to the states if disclosures about the agreement — or concerns — are shared publicly. Cooperation is the essential bond among Southern Baptists whose 46,500 churches are autonomous, but historically have rallied together around a common theology and the desire to work together in evangelistic missions at home and abroad. Local associations, state conventions and the national denomination (which includes domestic and overseas mission boards and an extensive seminary education system) each adhere to a system of independent governance — driven by elections, boards and appointments — that provides accountability to the churches which ultimately are the centers of sustainability for a massive system of financing and budgets which includes special … [Read more...]

By Michael Foust, Christian Examiner SAN FRANCISCO (Christian Examiner) – Golden State Warrior guard Stephen Curry accepted his second straight NBA Most Valuable Player trophy award Tuesday, and then sprinkled comments about his Christian faith throughout a news conference televised nationwide. Curry became the first unanimous selection in the history of the NBA trophy, winning all 131 first-place votes and doing something that the NBA's other great players of the past – such as Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird and Michael Jordan – never did. To read the rest of the article, click here. … [Read more...]

by Timothy E. Head, GuideStone Financial Resources DALLAS -- Health care costs continue to rise due to impact from the federal Affordable Care Act and are causing insurers to seek large rate hikes, while others have chosen to depart the health care exchanges altogether, according to GuideStone Financial Resources. The financial services arm of the Southern Baptist Convention noted some ways to help "mitigate the impact" of rising costs. UnitedHealth, the nation's largest medical insurance provider, recently announced it lost $650 million in 2015, on top of a $425 million loss in 2014, as a result of offering medical insurance on the various exchanges established through the Affordable Care Act. UnitedHealth has announced it would pull out of all but a few exchanges for 2017. While private insurance rates may vary from the rates charged on health care exchanges under the Affordable Care Act, they are related. According to the Associated Press, customers in the health care exchanges could see medical insurance rate increases that reach "well into double digits," as evidenced by Virginia health care providers on the HealthCare.gov website filing preliminary notices seeking average premium increases ranging from 9.4 percent to … [Read more...]

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...]