Monday, May 06, 2019

• Church membership drop, anxiety spotlight Gospel need

  by Grace Thornton, posted Monday, May 06, 2019 (7 months ago)

  

  iStock photo

  NASHVILLE (BP) -- As recent polls put U.S. church membership at an all-time low and anxiety at an all-time high, some Southern Baptist leaders say the numbers are a wake-up call to Christians' deep need to take the Great Commission personally.

  A Gallup Poll published in mid-April found that around 50 percent of Americans self-reported as members of a church, synagogue or mosque in 2018. That's a sharp drop from around 70 percent in 1999, a number that had stayed fairly steady in prior decades. Read More

• 'Alive from New York': Pro-lifers rally in Times Square

  by Mark Maynard/Kentucky Today , posted Monday, May 06, 2019 (7 months ago)

  

  Screen grab from Focus on the Family tweet

  NEW YORK (BP) -- One of the largest ever pro-life events happened in the heart of New York City's Times Square on Saturday afternoon (May 4).

  Estimates of 20,000 people gathered for an event called "Alive from New York" that was designed by Focus on the Family to celebrate the sanctity of human life in response to New York state's radical new abortion law that allows abortion of viable babies right up until the moment of birth. Read More

• Floyd names Upton as assistant to the president

  by Art Toalston, posted Monday, May 06, 2019 (7 months ago)

  

  Photo submitted

  NASHVILLE (BP) -- Ronnie Floyd, who will assume office as president/CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention's Executive Committee on May 20, has named Ed Upton as assistant to the president.

  Upton, 38, has been president of the Cross Church School of Ministry in northwest Arkansas since May 2017. He served as campus pastor for Cross Church's campus in Neosho, Mo., from 2015-2017. Read More

• HHS rule protecting conscience rights lauded

  by Tom Strode, posted Monday, May 06, 2019 (7 months ago)

  

  White House photo

  WASHINGTON (BP) -- Religious liberty and pro-life advocates have commended the Trump administration's new rule protecting freedom of conscience for health care providers.

  The final rule -- issued May 2 by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) -- provides for the enforcement of 25 federal laws protecting conscience rights that were not enforced by the Obama administration. Read More

• Study: 41.6M Bible-curious ripe for church

  by Diana Chandler, posted Monday, May 06, 2019 (7 months ago)

  

  iStock photo

  NASHVILLE (BP) -- A significant rise in the number of adults looking to the Bible for answers this year gives the church a prime opportunity to draw more people to biblical truth, the American Bible Society told Baptist Press.

  John F. Plake, director of the American Bible Society's ministry intelligence team, drew the optimism from the 2019 State of the Bible report showing an additional 18.1 million people searching for wisdom in Scripture than last year. Read More

• FIRST-PERSON: Worship when you're weary

  by Anna Schaeffer, posted Monday, May 06, 2019 (7 months ago)

  Anna Schaeffer's prayer during a weary rough patch when lots of things went wrong: "Use these things to bow my heart toward You and Your purpose for my life." Read More