• On the Move: Jennifer Hawks to BJC as staff counsel

  Jennifer Hawks to the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty as staff counsel. She had served as director of advocacy and outreach services for the Family Abuse Center in Waco.

  12/19/2014 - By John Rutledge

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  Obituaries: T.W. Hunt, Robin Feistel

  T. W Hunt, 85, a Southwestern Seminary professor and authority on prayer, died Dec. 11 in Spring. Robin Feistel, 66, a leader in English as a Second Language literacy, died Dec. 10 in Houston.

  12/19/2014 - By John Rutledge

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  Texas Tidbits: Baylor Philanthropy Lab benefits Waco nonprofits

  Students in Baylor University’s inaugural “Philanthropy and the Public Good” class directed $100,000 to Waco nonprofit organizations.

  12/19/2014 - By John Rutledge

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  Race relations better, but still a long way to go, most Americans say

  Americans view racial diversity positively, and they believe relations in the United States are better than they used to be, but there’s still a long way to go, according to two new surveys from Nashville-based LifeWay Research.

  12/19/2014 - By John Rutledge

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  Pastors urge Congress to support payday loan reform

  Pastors from several Texas Baptist churches delivered a simple but forceful message to members of Congress during a recent trip to Washington, D.C.: “Stop the payday loan debt trap.”

  12/19/2014 - By John Rutledge

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  West Texas churches bring exotic Christmas fare to Border families

  Several Concho Valley Baptist Association churches, along with one from Lubbock, united to share the love of Christ and Christmas with families in need in Del Rio and Eagle Pass.

  12/18/2014 - By John Rutledge

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  Far-flung satellites train leaders, strengthen churches

  B.H. Carroll Theological Institute’s satellite campuses in Cuba and Russia help to train leaders and strengthen churches.

  12/18/2014 - By John Rutledge

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  Wayland prof inspires Hispanic first-generation college students

  Joshua Mora experienced hardship growing up in a migrant worker family. But he was able to move out of the fields and into the classroom. He tells that story of hard work, faith and family to his students as he teaches Spanish at Wayland Baptist University.

  12/18/2014 - By John Rutledge

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  Facing Christmas with ‘the empty chair at the holiday table’

  For many, this Christmas will be the first without a special loved one. For those who have the opportunity to interact with a bereaved person, often there are questions: What do I do? What do I say?

  12/17/2014 - By John Rutledge

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  For Syrian refugees, ’tis the season to survive

  For many Americans, ’tis the season to snuggle by the fireplace with family and friends. But for Syrian refugees in Lebanon, it’s time to fight brutal winter temperatures in houses made of plywood or tarps and struggle to find food each day.

  12/17/2014 - By John Rutledge

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  Rabbi confirmed as U.S. ambassador for religious freedom

  The Senate confirmed David Saperstein—named the most influential rabbi in America by Newsweek magazine in 2009—as the State Department’s ambassador-at-large for international religious freedom, making him the first non-Christian to hold the job.

  12/17/2014 - By John Rutledge

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  San Antonio church, military volunteers help feed hungry families

  Last year, Pastor Rob Johnson asked two senior adults at Christian Family Baptist Church to pray with him about starting a community action team. Their answered prayers can be seen in 1,485 needy families in northwest San Antonio who received 110,000 pounds of food this year.

  12/16/2014 - By John Rutledge