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Scott McConnell is executive director of LifeWay Research, the survey arm of the Southern Baptist Convention's LifeWay Christian Resources. Word&Way Editor Brian Kaylor interviewed McConnell in April during the annual convention of the Evangelical Press Association in Oklahoma City, Okla.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala.— “The work of reconciliation is challenging to preach, and even more challenging to practice,” said Erica Whitaker, senior pastor of Buechel Park Baptist Church in Louisville, Ky., as the 2019 General Assembly of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship opened Wednesday (June 19) with a day focused on racial justice.

(RNS) — More than 14,000 Americans participating in the Ration Challenge for the first time this year — many, this week around World Refugee Day (June 20). The global challenge — organized in the United States by Church World Service — asks participants to live for a week on the same food rations people receive at refugee camps.

NEW YORK (AP) — Charitable giving by individual Americans in 2018 suffered its biggest drop since the Great Recession of 2008-09, in part because of Republican-backed changes in tax policy, according to the latest comprehensive report on Americans’ giving patterns.

Nearly two-thirds (63%) of U.S. adults say slavery’s legacy continues to negatively impact black Americans “a great deal” or “a fair amount,” according to a Pew Research Center data analysis published June 17.

(RNS) — A new report on family caregivers details how congregations can play a role in supporting the increasing number of members caring for elders.

TULSA, Okla. — Oh, Kenneth Hearrell has stories to tell. But ask the 87-year-old about his role as the “disaster deacon” for his church in Oklahoma, and he has less to say. It’s as if he can’t understand why anyone would need to ask why he feels compelled to help.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (RNS) — At their annual meeting, Southern Baptists re-elected their president, adopted statements on their views about major cultural issues, and discussed how to deal with sexual abuse and racial discrimination in the church.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (RNS) — When the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention opens, a little-noticed ritual usually occurs, involving the 1872 Broadus gavel. It has a questionable history — especially in a church body that has sought racial reconciliation within its ranks.

(RNS) — A diverse band of faith leaders and at least one presidential candidate descended on a park outside the White House on Wednesday (June 12), gathering to decry what organizers called the “evil” policies of the Trump administration.