By Bob Allen The Southern Baptist Convention called on the U.S. Supreme Court to leave it up to the states to decide whether or not to permit gay marriage in a resolution adopted June 16 in Columbus, Ohio. With a…
SBC ousts another gay-friendly church
By Bob Allen For the second straight year, the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee has voted to oust a church over homosexuality. The Executive Committee took action June 15 against Weatherly Heights Baptist Church in Huntsville, Ala., under a bylaw…
Baptist scholar says Mormonism becoming more Christian
By Bob Allen While political alliances between Southern Baptists and Mormons on issues like same-sex marriage are nothing new, a Baptist scholar says the two camps have more in common theologically than many assume. Roger Olson, a theology professor at…
Southern Baptist leader applauds crackdown on animal fighting
By Bob Allen The Southern Baptist Convention and Humane Society of the United States were among supporters of legislation cracking down on animal fighting in Tennessee signed into law June 11. Russell Moore, head of the SBC Ethics and Religious…
Baptist leader says religious lobby helped pass marriage law
By Bob Allen The Baptist leader of a North Carolina public policy advocacy group credited pressure from conservative Christians for a House vote overriding the governor’s veto of a bill allowing state court officials to refuse to perform same-sex marriages…
Church apologizes for botched discipline case
By Bob Allen A Southern Baptist megachurch has made amends for disciplining a church member for leaving her husband after learning he is addicted to child pornography. In a face-to-face meeting June 3, Matt Chandler, pastor of The Village Church,…
Meeting in Ohio, SBC grapples with numerical decline
By Bob Allen The Southern Baptist Convention lost more than 200,000 members last year, according to statistics released just ahead of the 2015 SBC annual meeting in Columbus, Ohio. Annual statistics compiled by LifeWay Christian Resources, the convention’s publishing arm,…
Baptist leader applauds papal message on environment
By Bob Allen A Baptist ethicist welcomed Pope Francis’ upcoming encyclical on the environment as “a hinge moment” not only for Catholics. “The environment needs to be at the heart of the Christian moral agenda, and it isn’t,” Robert Parham…
Baptist judge orders recognition of gay marriage
By Bob Allen An Arkansas judge who ruled June 9 the state must recognize 500 same-sex marriages that were performed during a six-day window in May 2014 moonlights as a Cooperative Baptist Fellowship pastor and is a well-known speaker at…
Saddleback Church raising $71 million in largest campaign
By Bob Allen Members of Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church have pledged to give $71 million over the next three years in the most ambitious fundraising campaign in the Southern Baptist megachurch’s 35-year history. Warren, who started the Southern California congregation…
Mohler says Campolo’s reversal on homosexuality abandons Scripture
By Bob Allen A Southern Baptist leader expressed sadness but not surprise at Tony Campolo’s announcement June 8 that he supports full inclusion of gays and lesbians into the life of the church. Albert Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological…
Tony Campolo calls for full acceptance of same-sex couples
By Bob Allen Tony Campolo, a leader of the evangelical left who for years has famously disagreed with his wife about homosexuality, announced June 8 he now supports the full acceptance of Christian gay couples into the church. “It has…