Baptists and Walmart criticize rebel-themed Mississippi flag

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — The Confederate-themed Mississippi flag drew opposition Tuesday from two big forces in the culturally conservative state: Southern Baptists and Walmart. Walmart said it will stop displaying the Mississippi flag while the state debates whether to change the design. The Mississippi...

Southern Baptists see 13th year of membership decline

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The nation's largest Protestant denomination is almost 2% smaller than it was in 2018. The Southern Baptist Convention released its 2019 membership numbers on Thursday, showing a membership decline of more than 287,000. That brings their total membership down from 14.8 million in...

Churches may reopen, but many services won’t have singing

(RNS) — They are words the Rev. John Witvliet, an expert on Christian worship, never thought he would hear himself say. “Based on the science that we are learning about this week, we are urging and I am personally urging extreme caution,” said Witvliet, director of the Calvin Institute of...