The first episode of BNG’s new limited podcast series, “Stuck in the Middle with You,” is now available for download and streaming.
Find the podcast on Podbean, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeart Radio, Player FM, Samsung, Podchaser and BoomPlay.
The podcast series features BNG Executive Director Mark Wingfield in dialogue with Benjamin Cole, also known as The Baptist Blogger.
Benjamin Cole
The first episode is an introduction to the series, with both hosts talking about their Southern Baptist roots and what they’ve experienced in denominational life. The episode outlines major themes to be developed in subsequent episodes and addresses some of the current issues facing the SBC.
Cole expresses his commitment to remain in the SBC and make it stronger. Wingfield left the SBC in 2000 when his Dallas church disaffiliated. He and his church were part of the founding of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.
Each episode offers 40 to 60 minutes of back and forth from the perspective of the right (Cole) and the left (Wingfield). And on occasion, they meet in the middle. New episodes will drop every Thursday.
Mark Wingfield
Both commentators were born into Southern Baptist families. Both attended SBC seminaries. And both have been deeply involved in observing the inner workings of the denomination. They come from different generations, however, and from different political and theological perspectives.
Upcoming episodes will address why the SBC’s trustee system is broken, what’s wrong with the SBC Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, why the gap between the SBC and CBF is wider than it was 30 years ago, whether missions remains a uniting force for Baptists, a discussion of Christian nationalism, an assessment of the changing nature of theological education, the reality of sexual abuse in churches — and likely more based on listener feedback.
Access to the podcast series is free, as is all content produced by BNG, a reader- and listener-supported news service.