Baptist

When Mike Parson places his hand on a Bible to take the oath of office on Friday, the Baptist layman will become Missouri’s 57^th governor. He will be Missouri’s first Baptist to live in the Governor’s Mansion since Republican Matt Blunt left office in January of 2009. A member of First Baptist Church in Bolivar, Mo., he talked about the impact of his faith on his politics in a Word&Way interview last year shortly after he started as lieutenant governor.

Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, a Southern Baptist Convention seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, has relieved President Paige Patterson of his responsibilities.

Yet, according to The Washington Post, SWBTS has provided him with a lucrative compensation package that includes housing accommodation on campus and the titles "theologian-in-residence" and "president emeritus."

(RNS) — Paige Patterson, the embattled president of Southern Baptist Convention’s largest seminary, was asked to step down following an outpouring of criticism for his comments on women, including advice he gave to a woman to stay with her abusive husband and new reports he asked another woman not to report a rape.

PAHOA, Hawaii (BP) -- With a volcanic eruption on Hawaii's Big Island in its third week, the state's Baptists are preparing to feed evacuees at area shelters and requesting prayer for the region's tourism industry.

PAHOA, Hawaii (BP) -- Amid a lava flow that has destroyed three dozen structures and the threat of a violent volcanic eruption, Hawaii's churches "are working in really neat ways," said Chris Martin, executive director of the Hawaii Pacific Baptist Convention (HPBC).

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (BP) -- Retired Southern Baptist missionary Patricia Stooksbury wanted everyone to know her life's journey. She had it printed plainly on her pine shipping-crate-modeled casket.

Most in ministry agree that having family members who share the vocation has been a tremendous help along the way.

HANNIBAL, Mo. (BP) -- Robert and Martha Bergen will retire from Hannibal-LaGrange University at the end of this summer after a combined 60 years of service, having taught an estimated 7,500 students.

Jeremy Bell, a Canadian Baptist leader, is the general secretary of the North American Baptist Fellowship, a regional body of the Baptist World Alliance. Word&Way Editor Brian Kaylor interviewed Bell as they traveled together on April 20.

Elijah Brown, originally from Texas, started in January as the ninth general secretary of the Baptist World Alliance. Word&Way Editor Brian Kaylor sat down with Brown in March in the BWA offices in Falls Church, Va.