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…
Russell Moore to join board of Hispanic evangelical group
By Bob Allen Southern Baptist Convention leader Russell Moore has been added to the organizational board of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, a conservative-leaning organization opposed to gay marriage and abortion rights but more in line with President Obama…
Pastor criticizes seminary president’s endorsement of secularist group
By Bob Allen A Texas Baptist pastor says in a YouTube video that a Southern Baptist seminary president should apologize for endorsing an atheist group or be censured by his board of trustees. Randy White, pastor of the 2,500-member First…
‘Say Something Nice Sunday’ this weekend
By Bob Allen Sunday, June 7, is Say Something Nice Sunday, an annual event that goes one better than your mother’s advice that if you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all. Mitch Carnell, an author,…