Monday, August 19, 2019

• Football, faith center stage at student events

  by Timothy Cockes, posted Monday, August 19, 2019 (5 months ago)

  

  Photo by Timothy Cockes

  LEXINGTON, Tenn. (BP) -- Tommy Bowden, former college football coach at Clemson University, recently spoke to hundreds of Tennessee high school football students about the importance of making good decisions in life.

  Bowden said he wanted to emphasize for the more than 700 players, representing more than five counties and 12 schools, the importance of having the right priorities in life by putting God first. The event was held at First Baptist Church of Lexington, Tenn., on July 18. Read More

• Art Toalston to retire from Baptist Press

  by BP staff, posted Monday, August 19, 2019 (5 months ago)

  

  NASHVILLE (BP) -- Art Toalston has announced after more than 27 years of service, he will retire from the Southern Baptist Convention's official news service, Baptist Press, effective Sept. 30.

  Toalston, senior editor of Baptist press, notified Ronnie Floyd, president and CEO of the SBC Executive Committee, Aug. 14. Toalston said he was looking forward to his new role as a "journalistic adventurer."

  Toalston transitioned from editor after 23 years to senior editor in 2015 when Shawn Hendricks began directing daily BP operations and was named editor a year later. Read More

• New federal rule to protect religious liberty praised

  by Tom Strode, posted Monday, August 19, 2019 (5 months ago)

  

  iStock

  WASHINGTON (BP) -- A Southern Baptist entity head and lawmaker have applauded a newly proposed rule to protect the rights of faith-based organizations that contract with the federal government.

  The Department of Labor (DOL) announced the proposal Aug. 14, saying the rule guarantees "conscience and religious freedom are given the broadest protection permitted by law." The regulation clarifies churches and other religious organizations that act as federal contractors may hire and fire based on their sincerely held beliefs without fear of being penalized by the government. Read More

• High school sports & transgender athletes

  by Kiley Crossland/WORLD, posted Monday, August 19, 2019 (5 months ago)

  

  iStock

  WASHINGTON (BP) -- The U.S. Department of Education has launched an investigation into a Connecticut high school sports policy that allows athletes who identify as transgender to compete against the opposite biological sex.

  The families of three female high school track athletes complained in June to the Education Department's Office of Civil Rights that the Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference policy discriminates against them. Read More

• LifeWay, amid growing impact, wins key Spanish awards

  by Aaron Wilson, posted Monday, August 19, 2019 (5 months ago)

  

  LifeWay Global photo

  MIAMI (BP) -- LifeWay Global and its B&H Publishing Español division, in its growing Hispanic impact, garnered a dozen awards -- more than any other publisher -- at the Spanish Evangelical Publishers Association's (SEPA) awards banquet Aug. 7.

  The annual event recognizes the highest quality and excellence in the publication, sale and marketing of Spanish Christian literature. Read More

• FLOYD: Special baptism day lives, breathes gospel urgency

  by Ronnie Floyd, posted Monday, August 19, 2019 (5 months ago)

  A special day of baptism will set your church on fire, say Ronnie Floyd, president of the Southern Baptist Convention's Executive Committee. "There is nothing like the joy of baptizing a person who has been transformed by the power of Jesus Christ," he writes. Read More