Bruce Gourley, the Montana-based web editor for Baptists Today, commented to me yesterday that the stories posted at our web site “are among the most interesting … I’ve seen in a while.” Then he added: “Several of which I could not have made up…”
Each day, Bruce combs the web for a wider variety of religion news stories than can be found on just about any site. Those links are supplemented by stories I select from Religion News Service, made available through a contract with the large, secular news service focused exclusively on religion.
Bruce is right about the interesting, widely diverse and sometimes odd topics that are found in this daily updated collection of stories posted at BaptistsToday.org.
Here and now, you can learn that:
-Tours are being offered of polygamist communities along the Utah/Arizona border, although residents prefer you stay away.
-Liberal politicians in Canada are trying to repair relationships with evangelical Christians whose voting power they desire.
-The roof beam of Holy Trinity Church in Stratford-upon-the-Avon is rotting and needs to be replaced before crashing in on William Shakespeare’s grave.
-More Americans than ever are listing “none” as their religious affiliation.
-A British Catholic charity has devised a prayer to be offered up prior to sex.
-An African-American congregation in L.A. has opened a produce market in hopes of improving diet habits.
-The daughter of the late D. James Kennedy failed to push out Billy Graham’s grandson from the pulpit he inherited from her father in South Florida.
-An Assemblies of God leader expressed concern that speaking in tongues is declining due to broader outreach efforts.
Of course, we provide Baptist-specific news from ABP news service and other sources as well. For example, we are keeping a close eye on the leadership vacancies at the two Southern Baptist mission boards — and Texas Baptists Committed where David Currie is shifting gears next year.
While some have speculated that the two mission boards could possibly merge, no voice has called (yet) for Currie’s position to be integrated into the SBC structure (wink, wink). We’ll keep you posted.
For as the late Gilda Radner used to say: “It’s always something.” And, when it is, we will try to get the word out to you in a timely fashion.
Director of the Jesus Worldview Initiative at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee and former executive editor and publisher at Good Faith Media.
