Laura Erlanson

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – When Nate Adams was interviewed by the search team that hired him as the executive director of the Illinois Baptist State Association 20 years ago, he was asked: “Do you see yourself with gray hair in Illinois?”

NASHVILLE (BP) – When Steven Curtis and Mary Beth Chapman got married 40-plus years ago, they knew they were opposites in many ways. After all, that was what had attracted them to each other in the first place. “You fall in love with something you are not,” Mary Beth says.

ORLANDO (BP) – Florida pastor Ted Traylor announced today (March 3) his intention to nominate South Carolina pastor Wayne Bray to serve as president of the 2027 SBC Pastors’ Conference in Indianapolis.

WASHINGTON (BP) – The U.S. Supreme Court issued a win for parental rights Monday (March 2) when it blocked, for now, a California state law that bans automatic notification of parents if their child changes pronouns or gender expression at school.

NASHVILLE (BP) – The landscape of so-called “gender affirming care” continues to change as hospitals change policies and treatment plans under pressure from the Trump administration.

NASHVILLE (BP) – In a wide-ranging interview with Peter Robinson of the Hoover Institution, former U.S. senator and former university president Ben Sasse minced no words and even used some colorful ones when talking about the gravity of his condition and of the country’s challenges.

NASHVILLE (BP) – In a meeting that was at once routine and consequential, the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee adopted a realigned CP allocation budget, affirmed the need for ministry to those with disabilities, discontinued fellowship with two churches and dealt with messenger motions referred to it from the 2025 SBC Annual Meeting.

HANNIBAL, Mo. (BP) – A lawsuit brought by Hannibal-LaGrange University against the U.S. Department of Education was settled last week after the DOE issued new guidance making the lawsuit unnecessary.

WASHINGTON – Attendees at the 74th annual National Prayer Breakfast in Washington Feb. 5 heard a moving address on persevering through tragedy and remembering the brevity of life from keynote speaker Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (BP) – Four years ago, the Baptist Church Music Conference had about 80 attendees. It seemed like no one knew it existed. It felt like it was dying.