Good News for Today

In 1914 Louisville, when Blacks and whites lived in communities segregated by a city ordinance signed May 11 of that year, Black and white Baptists formed a community partnership that survives to this day. Only five decades since the Civil War and 46 years after the passage of the 14th Amendment, the partnership was born amid exacerbated racial disparities. “It was kind of unheard of when you thin...

Christians engaged in Scripture place the highest premiums on civic advocacy and engagement, the American Bible Society (ABS) said in its latest release from the 2024 State of the Bible. Falling in a presidential election year, the study shows Scripture-engaged Christians place more importance than others on being aware of civic and government issues, advocating for civic and government policies a...

Like everyone else, Bob Hurd remembers where he was when he heard Donald Trump had been shot on Saturday afternoon. Hurd was at a wedding reception about 20 minutes away from the Trump rally in Butler, Pa., where Hurd is pastor of Whitestown Road Church and lives across the road from the Butler Farm Showgrounds, cite of the assassination attempt.  Hurd said he led his church to pray for the countr...

With Good News for Today, I’m Brandon Porter.   The Republican National Convention kicks off today in Milwaukee. While the convention is set on Donald Trump as its nominee for president in the November election, there are still many watching the convention’s recent development concerning pro-life policy.   Last week, the convention’s platform committee voted to propose a platform that some thought...

Disaster Relief (SBDR) units have deployed in and around Houston up into Texarkana in response to Hurricane Beryl, which made landfall early Monday morning, July 8. Units with the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention (SBTC), Texans on Mission, Arkansas and Alabama are providing meals, showers and chainsaw work to survivors. Scottie Stice, SBDR director for the SBTC, shared through email that they...

Devon Faulkner knows about bumpy rides.   “Our small Cessna bobbled lower and lower until its wheels made contact with the gravel runway, slicing through its many puddles,” Faulkner wrote in a blog entry. After deplaning, Faulkner and his partner walked off the landing strip and into the jungle...the Amazon jungle. Faulkner serves as a Project 3000 missionary explorer with the International Missio...

Disaster relief workers from Texas and across the US are responding to Hurricane Beryl's aftermath, which killed at least seven people in Texas and Louisiana and left millions without power in intense heat. You can support recovery efforts at Send Relief.org. Meanwhile, 73 Hispanic chaplains graduated from a training program in Florida, fulfilling a vision by Marc Johnston and Misael Castillo to a...

Disaster Relief workers are responding to those affected by Hurricane Beryl in Texas, where the storm caused significant damage and power outages. The Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission has called on both major political parties to prioritize pro-life policies in their upcoming platforms. Nathan Lorick, a Texas church leader, encourages believers to use the summer for rest, spiritual growth,...

An Oklahoma middle school student avoids using school bathrooms, fearing encounters with biological males identifying as female. IMB Missionaries Matt and Audrey Chism, inspired by their work with Middle Eastern refugees, now encourage others to share the gospel with these communities. Lastly, Ken Braddy of Lifeway Christian Resources urges church leaders to support their group leaders with well-p...

Brian Wuotis, a high school teacher and pastor, and his wife in Willmington, VT, had their foster care license revoked due to their Christian beliefs on gender, prompting a federal lawsuit filed through Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF). The case challenges Vermont’s policy on foster parents supporting children's gender identities and sexual orientations. Meanwhile, Bruce Jennings, a youth minister...

Today marks America's 247th Independence Day. This celebration highlights the freedom to worship and practice faith openly in the U.S. Meanwhile, the Alliance of Christians in Cuba (ACC) has condemned ongoing human rights and religious freedom violations, demanding the release of religious prisoners like Pastor Lorenzo Rosales Fajardo and the free operation of new churches. Chaplain Col. James F....

In recent news, Mark Rienzi, president of the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, testified before Congress on utilizing existing federal laws, including the Ku Klux Klan Act, to combat antisemitism at universities. Additionally, South Fork Outdoorsmen Church in Rigby, Idaho, has rejuvenated its congregation through community outreach and simple services, growing significantly since its relaunch in...

Oklahoma’s top education official, Ryan Walters, has mandated that public schools incorporate the Bible into lessons for grades 5-12, sparking controversy and raising constitutional concerns. Meanwhile, First Church in Berlin, Maryland, held a special Vacation Bible School for children with disabilities, offering sensory-friendly activities in partnership with Joni and Friends. Families expressed...

L.A. Mayor Karen Bass on Wednesday, June 26, said she is exploring the idea of buffer zones around houses of worship in response to a pro-Palestinian protest at a synagogue on Sunday but said that placing regulations on masks at public demonstrations — at this point — would likely not hold up in court.  There were pro-Palestinian protesters who had their faces covered on Sunday, and by Monday at a...

In a 5-4 vote, the U.S. Supreme Court (SCOTUS) sent the case of Idaho and Moyle v. U.S. back to the Ninth Circuit Court in a ruling released today. The case involves a conflict between state law and the Biden Administration’s Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA).   “At the heart of the case is the wild assertion by the Biden Administration that abortion is healthcare. Instead of dism...

U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy called for warning labels to be placed on social media, saying in a post to X it is “an important contributor” to a youth mental health crisis. “Congress’ top priority should be making these platforms safer by passing legislation to protect kids’ health, safety and privacy,” he said. Among those cheering the surgeon general’s actions, there is also some doubt as t...

The Supreme Court announced Monday they will hear arguments in a Tennessee case that puts limitations on gender transition treatment for minors.   Ethics leader Brent Leatherwood told Baptist Press, “This Tennessee law, created to protect vulnerable children, is now being challenged by the Biden administration in their latest effort to push forward radical gender ideology.”   Leatherwood said, “Th...

Monday marked the second anniversary of the Supreme Court decision that overturned the Roe vs. Wade decision… moving the abortion debate primarily to state legislators. Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission president Brent Leatherwood says the marker doesn’t indicate an end of an era but instead, a new beginning. “We rejoice knowing the ruling put an end to the Roe regime, but also realize there...

Today marks the second anniversary of the Supreme Court case that overturned Roe vs. Wade. The decision paves the way for the abortion debate to move from Washington to state capitols across the US.   The last two years have been filled with ballot initiatives, executive orders and legislations across the US that has varied greatly.   The decision has created what is known as “abortion tourism” as...

Scripture engagement improves hope and lowers stress in Generation Z, a group that otherwise fares worse than any other generation, the American Bible Society said in its latest release from the 2024 State of the Bible. Gen Zers largely saw their life’s plans interrupted by the COVID pandemic and are stressed and less hopeful amid an uncertain job market exacerbated by rising living costs and like...

As wildfires are sweeping across portions of New Mexico, first responders are working to get control of the fires and care for residents in affected regions.   Disaster relief workers are keeping a close watch on the fires and are preparing to help those affected as they recover.  -- Church leaders across have worked together to develop a new curriculum to help churches prevent sexual abuse and ca...

Refugees are those driven from their homeland because of war, or threat of violence or persecution. At a Send Relief meeting in Indianapolis last week, Bryant Wright, president of Send Relief, told of time in 2014 when he and his wife sat in the tent home of a Syrian refugee family on the border of Lebanon and Syria. The father, blinded by the ravages of warfare, listened intently as Bryant shared...

Chaplains from the US military and civilian chaplains where honored last week in Indianpolis.   During a luncheon, Chaplain Major General Doug Carver (U.S. Army retired) told the group, ““You are sent outside of your church to some tough places where the church can’t go,” Carver said, emphasizing the unique and vital role chaplains play in prisons, hospitals, the Armed Services, and other challeng...

Communicating with the Deaf community in its heart language is a key concept of Jesus: A Deaf Missions Film portraying the story of Jesus entirely in American Sign Language (ASL), billed by Deaf Missions as the first-ever ASL adaptation for the silver screen. The film removes all barriers Deaf people face when viewing spoken-language films with subtitles, a standard that Josselyn says makes it dif...

Today is Flag Day, though not celebrated as a national holiday, it’s been a recongnized day since 1916, when President Woodrow Wilson issued a presidential proclamation establishing a national Flag Day on June 14, according to the Library of Congress.   To date, there have been twenty-seven official versions of the flag, but the arrangement of the stars varied according to the flag-makers’ prefere...