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LONDON (RNS)  — The Rev. Alan Everett vividly remembers the early morning hours of June 14, 2017. Flames were engulfing the 24-story apartment building near his church, St. Clement's in Notting Dale, and he did what came naturally: invite in the weary, fearful and displaced.

DALLAS (RNS) — Southern Baptists, grappling with some #MeToo-aided falls from grace among their leaders, have called for affirming women, showing compassion for the abused and expecting “moral and sexual purity” of their leaders.

(RNS) — Opponents of the Miss America pageant’s decision to discontinue the swimsuit portion of their competition have blamed liberals, feminists, and the #MeToo movement, and with good reason. None, however, have blamed Christians.

Why not?

WASHINGTON (BP) -- Churches that haven't updated their wireless sound system may have trouble being heard on any given Sunday, as the federal government is phasing out the 600MHz frequencies many congregations use.

(RNS) — Paige Patterson, fired recently from his post at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, announced Friday (June 8) that he won’t deliver the sermon at the convention's annual meeting in Dallas next week, while denying that the events that led to his dismissal have been accurately portrayed.

For the first time, national gatherings of the Southern Baptist Convention and Cooperative Baptist Fellowship in 2018 will meet in the same city on the same week.

WASHINGTON (BP) -- Homosexuality, premarital sex, divorce, marijuana and pornography are approved by a growing percentage of Americans, Gallup found in an annual poll including nearly 20 behaviors placed on its morality scale.

OKLAHOMA CITY (RNS) — As Presbyterian minister Bobby Griffith sees it, legalizing medical marijuana in Oklahoma could help arthritis sufferers with chronic pain and veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder.

The 41-year-old husband and father has a personal reason, too, for supporting State Question 788 — a pro-marijuana initiative that the Bible Belt state’s voters will decide June 26.

Southern Baptists meeting in Dallas June 12-13 will pick their next president. J.D. Greear is widely expected to win; if he does, 45-year-old Greear will become the youngest SBC leader in nearly 40 years to assume the one-year post and the first Generation X president.

On average a pastor has two or three hours a week to speak directly to church members built on hours of prayer and study. Pastors who find a way to share some of that research and insight through a writing ministry have an opportunity to connect with church members and those outside the church.