U.S. Christian support for Israel recalibrates after Netanyahu’s ouster

Solidarity with Israel among evangelical Christians has evolved for the last decade while one man reigned over the Holy Land. After his stinging defeat, Christian leaders are trying to heal the fractures it created.

D.C. Baptist Church Wins Lawsuit Over COVID-19 Worship Restrictions

Capitol Hill Baptist Church in Washington, D.C. has reached a $220,000 settlement with the District of Columbia and Mayor Muriel Bowser in a civil case filed over the District’s restrictions on gatherings at places of worship during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Why it’s unlikely U.S. mainline Protestants outnumber evangelicals

(ANALYSIS) Recent data released by the Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) showed that US mainline Protestants outnumber evangelicals for the first time. But that conclusion was immediately met with skepticism online. Here’s why.

As South Sudan turns 10, questions over the role of the church emerge amid anti-clerical violence

(ANALYSIS) On July 9, 2021, South Sudan will celebrate its 10th anniversary of independence – but it does so amid concern over violence in the young nation. Recent attacks on two Catholic priests have also put a focus on the role of the church in South Sudan. The country’s freedom was achieved after two lengthy civil wars against its now northern neighbor, Sudan, in which religious identity played a key role.

Haiti's presidential assassination shut down airports but not churches, mission teams

A hit squad of gunmen killed Haiti’s president this week, pitching the small Caribbean nation into a state of lawlessness and emergency. Outside the capital, a U.S. Christian mission team of teens and adults is going ahead with their plans, helping local churches host Vacation Bible School activities for kids in the community.

Vacation Bible School is back this summer, with a few changes

Many congregations had to cancel VBS in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now that vaccines are being distributed and restrictions are easing, some churches are putting the summer program back on their calendars.

North America, NewsChloe FranklinJuly 8, 2021Christian Chroncile, Secondary FeatureComment

Zoom Church For The Deaf-Blind: How The Jehovah's Witnesses Are Adapting

While many churches have resumed in-person services, the Jehovah’s Witnesses remain completely virtual in their operations with no plans to reopen. While the deaf-blind make up a tiny portion of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, the organization has innovated ways to minister to this group, using everything from advanced electronic readers to macaroni.

This entrepreneurial minister created a solution to provide clean water to rural Dominicans

Rural villages in the Dominican Republic’s hot, barren southwestern region struggle to access clean drinking water. This entrepreneurial minister created a business that filters water using ultraviolet light and an elaborate storage system and delivers clean water at affordable prices or no cost to families, schools and businesses.

A History: 400 Years of Infighting in the Southern Baptist Convention

(ANALYSIS) Concerned over the direction that some leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention have recently taken, a number of pastors in the denomination have formed the “Conservative Baptist Network” while others have left the denomination altogether. A history of the “Baptist battles” provides context for the SBC’s recent infighting along race, gender and ideology.

Churches in Canada Confront Their Past After The Remains of 215 Children Found

After the remains of 215 indigenous children were found in Canada, churches are working to confront their past and serve their communities.

Religion Shapes Morals Even For Those Who Are Not Religious

In a 2019 survey, 44% of Americans – along with 45% of people across 34 nations – said that belief in God is necessary “to be moral and have good values.” So what happens to a person’s morality and values when they lose faith?

These Iraqis Follow The Last Continuously Surviving Gnostic Religion

As the pope met with local Christian and Muslim leaders in March 2021, the names of smaller religious groups found in Iraq also made the news. One of these was the Mandaeans. Also called Sabians, they are followers of the last Gnostic religion to survive continuously from ancient times down to the present day.

Saving 'Friendless' Churches From Demolition in England and Wales

The structure of St. Baglan's Church in North Wales is simple, with plastered stone walls and whitewashed timbers between the slate slabs of its roof and floor. The 13th Century sanctuary was rebuilt in the 1800s, but the carved doorway lintel dates from the 5th or 6th century. An adjacent field contains the 7th Century well of St. Baglan and for ages the faithful sought healing in its waters.

A survivor debunks myths some Christians believe about sex trafficking

ReligionUnplugged talked to a sex trafficking survivor in the U.S. about the Christian misconceptions of human trafficking: false, incomplete, misguided, unhelpful and even harmful ideas. She has both praises and criticisms of how American Christians are responding to prostitution… “I feel like the biggest misconception, especially in the Christian realm, is just that it's not the movie Taken in the United States. It can be, but that is the minority. The majority you know, looks very much like chosen prostitution. But it's not.”

'Authoritarian' laws in India's Arabian Sea Islands anger local Muslims

Local Muslims believe the new proposed regulations threaten the culture of the Muslim-majority islands and are aimed at furthering the Hindu nationalist agenda of India's ruling party.

Bill Clinton’s Former Prosecutor Speaks On Public School Policies

Ken Starr, known for his investigation into a marital affair by President Bill Clinton, spoke Wednesday on the rights of all people including Christians. His visit coincided with news of a Leesburg, Va., elementary school teacher who was suspended from his job for refusing to refer to a biological boy as a girl and vice versa.

SBC Elects Alabama Pastor Known as Racial Healer

In an unexpected move, the more than 16,000 “messengers” to the Southern Baptist Convention narrowly elected Alabama pastor Ed Litton, known for preaching racial reconciliation, as the new president of the nation’s largest Protestant denomination. Litton ran against the more conservative candidate Mike Stone in a runoff vote. The election signals an ideological divide in the SBC that is far from resolving.

Southern Baptist Convention to discuss race, gender and sex abuse in seminal meeting

More than 16,000 “messengers” of the gospel are gathering in Nashville this week for the first meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention in two years. They’re expected to vote on several hot button issues, including women’s ordination, approaches to racial justice, resolving sexual abuse and electing a new president. As a temperature check from the largest Protestant denomination in the U.S, the results may be an indicator of the ideological direction of American White evangelicalism and will likely cause further division within the group.

From Abortion And Porn To Women And Race: How Southern Baptist Convention Resolutions Have Evolved

(ANALYSIS) The Southern Baptist Convention will convene its annual meeting on June 15, 2021 amid hemorrhaging membership. Southern Baptists have lost over 2 million members since 2006, with over 400,000 defections in the last year alone. A data-oriented analysis of the SBC’s past resolutions gives insight into the group’s history and trajectory.

How Listeners and a Christian Radio Ministry Carried Each Other Through The Pandemic

Despite facing uncertainty about fundraising at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, a Christian radio station that’s more than 90% listener supported is receiving more donations than ever before and even planning expansions to its radio signal and headquarters facilities.

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