Texas pastor Michael Criner has been named vice president of the 2025 Southern Baptist Convention Pastors’ Conference, to be held on June 8-9, in Dallas. D.J. Horton, Pastors’ Conference president and senior pastor of Church at The Mill in Spartanburg, S.C., announced Criner’s selection in a press release Monday, Sept. 9, noting that Criner’s leadership will be a tremendous asset to the conference.

BRENTWOOD, Tenn. — After a difficult economic stretch for many churches and pastors, Southern Baptist pastors may feel more comfortable compared to two years ago.

RALEIGH, N.C. — Gathering Monday morning, Sept. 9, for the 18th Annual Southeastern Classic, 50 teams totaling 200 players teed off to celebrate a year of generous giving and support for Southeastern Seminary and its students.

A rare winter weather event occurred a few years ago where I lived, producing more ice than snow. As a result, a tree limb struck a utility line beside our driveway, causing us to lose electricity in bitterly cold weather. It was a strange thing to be without power while seeing our neighbors on each side of us enjoying electricity and warm homes.

One of the most famous lines in the movie “A Few Good Men” is when a character in the movie says, “You can’t handle the truth.” From the time of the ministry of Jesus in the first century, nonbelievers have attacked Christians because of our affirmation of Scriptural truth. In reality, nonbelievers “can’t handle the truth” that Jesus is the living God and the One and only Savior.

FORST WORTH, Texas — Former Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary President Adam W. Greenway dropped his defamation lawsuit against his former employer without any financial settlement.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill.  — A circuit judge in Springfield has ruled against the Illinois Baptist State Association in a suit to protect IBSA from requirements to provide employees with insurance benefits that cover abortion. The ruling came more than four years after IBSA filed suit, saying the Illinois Reproductive Health Act did not violate IBSA’s religious freedom.

In the summer of 2022, the United States Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade after five long decades. With Roe gone, abortion is no longer protected at the federal level, and states are able to enact meaningful pro-life protections. As a result, lasting pro-life work requires both national and state-by-state strategies.

MT. STERLING, Ill. — Don Hannel had no plans for change. He had pastored his hometown church of Pleasant Hill in west-central Illinois for nearly 19 years. The church was growing. He had a secure ministry. There was no reason to leave.

FORT WORTH, Texas — Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary celebrated and encouraged its core value of being globally engaged last week with a Global Missions Emphasis week, which included a variety of opportunities for students to meet missionaries, hear from evangelism and missions faculty, and learn of opportunities for them join in missions.

Over the past few days, Kirk Baptist Church in Piperton, Tennessee, has had to post words they never wanted to post — that their pastor, Bobby Mullins, was killed in a car accident on Wednesday, Sept. 4, and his wife, Wanda, died in the hospital the following day from her injuries.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Parkway Place Church on Sunday, Aug. 25., celebrated the return to their worship center 17 months after severe weather caused major damage to their facility.  On March 29, 2023, a tornado, categorized as an EF-3 by the National Weather Service, with winds of more than 165 mph, tore through areas of Little Rock, North Little Rock, and Jacksonville leaving devastation in its wake.   

ROME, Ga. — Shorter University is excited to officially have our Steinway Concert Grand Piano back on campus, now fully rebuilt and refinished.

SALISBURY, Md. —­ One year after the release of Send Network’s popular podcast, “Terminal: The Dying Church Planter,” church planter Richard Pope and producer Tony Hudson sat down again to catch up on a rollercoaster of a year. Their conversation reveals an unforeseen outcome.

Sarah York is one of the kindest people you will ever meet. She has a sweet spirit that oozes out of her. Actually, all of the Fruits of the Spirit ooze out of her. Sarah loves Jesus and it shows, quite clearly. An encourager extraordinaire, she always has a good word.

WINDER, Ga. (BP) – Area churches have canceled or altered normal Wednesday activities after a shooting at Apalachee High School left four dead and nine others taken to area hospitals with injuries. In a press conference this afternoon, Georgia Bureau of Investigation Director Chris Hosey confirmed that the deceased were two students and two teachers.

During spring break week several years ago, I went with my son and his family to Houston for a wedding. After the wedding, we took a little side trip to Waco. I mean, if you are in Texas you have to experience Waco.

NASHVILLE (BP) – A reorganization of executive level leadership roles at the SBC Executive Committee was announced Tuesday, Sept. 3. The move comes a little less than three months after Jeff Iorg became EC president.

Americans are growing increasingly progressive in several areas of morality while also growing increasingly concerned about the current state of moral values and pessimistic about the future. According to the latest Gallup survey on moral issues, U.S. adults are more likely than ever to see abortion, suicide, and polygamy as morally acceptable.

International Mission Board missionaries can’t always live in the countries among the people they serve. While this can make ministry challenging, missionaries have navigated this in many ways, depending on the context and country.

McDONOUGH, Ga. — With four of this year’s six regional SPARK church-strengthening conferences in the books, the Georgia Baptist Mission Board’s discipleship team is shattering attendance numbers. So far in 2024, more than 2200 participants from over 130 churches have taken advantage of the gatherings to learn strategies and ideas for improving all aspects of their church’s ministry.

McDONOUGH, Ga. — A record number of participants registered for the Georgia Baptist Mission Board’s SPARK conference at Glen Haven Baptist Church in McDonough, Ga., Sunday, Aug. 25.

INDEPENDENCE, Mo. — Bill Denman retired from construction work in his early 60s.  He had used heavy equipment machinery to build water and sewer lines most of his adult life. First, he was an operator and then a foreman.  He worked hard.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Spurgeon Library at Midwestern Seminary has established a partnership with Reformation Heritage Books to republish Charles Spurgeon’s 63 volumes of sermons.

If I were to calculate the amount of land I own, it would not take long to come up with the total. All together, about three-quarters of an acre bear my name. It is the grounds for a house I own and hope to sell.