Several leaders in the Southern Baptist Convention are considering a name change with an alternative, “Great Commission Baptists”, in light of the recent racial unrest as well as the SBC’s past endorsement of slavery.

Speaking with the Baptist Press, SBC President J.D. Greear explained that despite the name being initially proposed in 2012, it wasn’t until recently that many leaders within the convention have expressed greater interest in using it.

“Our leadership affirms the decision made by messengers in 2012,” Greear said. “We believe now is a good time to use it due to the fact that the primary reason we are part of the convention is for the Great Commission.”

The alternative name will be used as the theme for the 2021 Annual SBC Meeting, “We Are Great Commission Baptists.”

“By making this our annual meeting theme and encouraging the use of the alternate name, we do not in any way want to minimize the significance of our past, either its accomplishments or its failures,” Greear said.

By using Great Commission Baptist, Greear noted that it makes “clear we serve a risen Savior who died for all peoples, whose mission is not limited to one people living in one time at one place.”

“Every week we gather to worship a Savior who died for the whole world, not one part of it. What we call ourselves should make that clear,” he asserted.

According to The Christian…

An Arkansas Kroger store violated federal anti-discrimination law when it reportedly fired two employees who refused to wear LGBT-themed aprons due to their religious beliefs, according to a lawsuit filed Monday by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

According to the Miami Herald, a dress code by the Conway, Ark., grocery store required employees to wear a rainbow-colored heart emblem on the bib of the apron. The women “believed the emblem endorsed LGBTQ values and that wearing it would violate their religious beliefs,” the EEOC said in a news release summarizing the suit.

Kroger disciplined the two women and eventually fired them, an action that violates Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which bans employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin. The EEOC charges Kroger with religious discrimination.

Both women are Christian.

The two women “offered to wear the apron with the emblem covered and the other offered to wear a different apron without the emblem, but the company made no attempt to accommodate their requests,” the EEOC said.

“Companies have an obligation under Title VII to consider requests for religious accommodations, and it is illegal to terminate employees for requesting an accommodation for their religious beliefs,” said Delner-Franklin Thomas, district director of the EEOC’s Memphis…

Roberto Quiñones Haces, a journalist for CubaNet, which is an online newspaper that reports on Cuba for Cubans, was recently released from jail after being detained for covering the Cuban government’s attempt to jail a Christian couple for homeschooling their children.

Amnesty International reported that he was tried and jailed for “disobedience” and “resistance” by trying to document the Cuban government’s assault on this Christian couple’s freedoms.

Roberto Quiñones Haces was reportedly being held in Guantanamo but was reportedly not being held in the same prison as the U.S. Military Prison in Guantanamo Bay. 

According to a statement from Amnesty International, “While imprisoned, Roberto Quiñones has developed gastrointestinal, respiratory and other health complications related to pre-existing conditions, according to his family. Quiñones has also written about the conditions in which he is held, including the overcrowding, poor quality of food and water and the lack of adequate medical care, for which he was punished by the Guantánamo Municipal Prison Disciplinary Council with a ban on any further writing, according to statements that emerged in the press and were gathered by ARTICLE 19. These health factors increase the potential risks posed by COVID-19.”

It is unknown whether Roberto Quiñones Haces has experienced any injuries…

Netflix lost an above-average number of subscribers over the weekend following a backlash against the company for streaming the controversial film Cuties, according to a new report from a data research company.

YipitData says Netflix’s cancellation rate on Saturday was eight times higher compared to the average cancellation rate in August. It was a multi-year high in daily cancellations, YipitData told Variety.

Cuties, rated TV-MA, follows a group of 11-year-old girls who join a dance group named “Cuties” and “become aware of their own femininity through dance,” according to the show’s description. A Twitter clip that has amassed 22 million views shows the girls on stage dressed in risqué outfits while they twerk, touch each other and grind their hips.

The loss in subscribers followed a “Cancel Netflix” trend on Twitter and Google. “#CancelNetflix” was the fourth-highest trending topic on Twitter Sept. 10. Google also showed a major spike in “Cancel Netflix” searches over the weekend.

Roughly 700,000 individuals have signed a petition urging Netflix to pull the movie.

Netflix has defended the film, saying it is a “social commentary against the sexualization of young children.”

The Parents Television Council, though, says the film “sexualizes children.”

“Although the film tackles an important topic – one that under different circumstances we…

White, self-identified Christians in the United States have become less motivated to address racial injustice and are less likely to believe that the country has a race problem compared to last year, according to a new report by the Barna Group.

In findings made public on Tuesday, Barna reported that 33% of white self-identified Christians believe that the United States “definitely” has a race problem, down from 40% last year.

By contrast, 81% of black self-identified Christians agreed that the nation “definitely” has a race problem, up from 75% in 2019. Hispanic self-identified Christians stayed about the same, with 54% responding “definitely” in 2019 and 55% responding the same in 2020.

Barna also found that from 2019-2020, the number of white self-identified Christians who felt “very motivated” to address racial injustice dropped from 14% to 10%.

White self-identified Christians who were “motivated” to address racial injustice also declined from 18% in 2019 to 15% in 2020, with those “not at all motivated” rising from 11%…

Vice President Mike Pence and several Christian leaders referenced Scripture after Israel signed a historic peace deal with two Arab nations Tuesday at the White House.

“Blessed Are The Peacemakers,” Pence tweeted, quoting Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:9.

Blessed Are The Peacemakers pic.twitter.com/CxHTAkc86u

— Mike Pence (@Mike_Pence) September 15, 2020

As part of the deal, Israel and the United Arab Emirates recognized each other’s sovereignty and agreed to establish embassies and ambassadors. A deal between Israel and Bahrain did the same. The peace agreement was dubbed the Abraham Accords.

It was the first Mideast peace ceremony at the White House since 1994, when President Clinton presided over a ceremony involving Israel and Jordan.

“Together, these agreements will serve as the foundation for a comprehensive peace across the entire region … founded on shared interests, mutual respect and friendship,” President Trump said.

Evangelist Franklin Graham applauded the peace deal.

“The Bible tells us to, ‘Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!’ (Ps 122:6). Today officials from Israel, United Arab Emirates, & Bahrain joined @POTUS Trump to sign peace agreements called the ‘Abraham Accords,” Graham tweeted.

The Bible tells us to, “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!” (Ps 122:6). Today officials from Israel, United Arab Emirates, & Bahrain joined @POTUS Trump to…

A record number of baptisms took place at a beach in Orange County over the weekend, as believers professed their faith in Jesus Christ at Southern California’s latest “spiritual revival.”

Nearly 1,000 people turned out at the Chino Hills-based Calvary Chapel’s outdoor baptism, which was held at Newport Beach’s Corona Del Mar State Beach on Saturday. While Calvary Chapel hosts a baptism at Corona Del Mar Beach every year, Pastor Jack Hibbs described the baptism as “our biggest to date.”

“California may be experiencing a spiritual revival,” Calvary Chapel Church Director Gina Gleason told CBN News in an interview. She said that the turnout at this year’s outdoor baptism was “remarkable and a significant number,” far exceeding the typical turnout of around 300 attendees.

“Spiritual revivals” at the beach have become a common sight in southern California as believers grapple with restrictions imposed on religious services amid the coronavirus pandemic. In July, the group Saturate OC held…

Hurricane Sally made landfall early Wednesday morning near Gulf Shores, Alabama, displacing residents as floodwaters continue to rise.

“There are entire communities that we’re going to have to evacuate,” Sheriff David Morgan said according to the Associated Press. “It’s going to be a tremendous operation over the next several days.”

In Orange Beach, at least 50 people were rescued. In Escambia County, more than 40 people were rescued.

In downtown Pensacola, the National Weather Service reported nearly 3 feet of water, and near the Naval Air Station Pensacola, more than 2 feet of rain was recorded.

“It’s not common that you start measuring rainfall in feet,” said forecaster David Eversole in Mobile, Alabama. “Sally’s moving so slowly, so it just keeps pounding and pounding and pounding the area with tropical rain and just powerful winds. It’s just a nightmare.”

Some half-a-million homes and businesses also lost power.

In Pensacola, resident Kenneth McElroy said a tree fell through his house into his living room.

“You can’t get down on yourself, it will make it worse,” he said. “At least everybody is accounted for.”

He added, however, that he is still hopeful.

“A pandemic, and a hurricane, what’s next?” he said. “Sunny days and good times.”

Sally pummeled the coast as a Category 2 storm but weakened to a Category 1 storm. Heavy rain is expected to continue into…