By Bob Allen The Southern Baptist Convention is “catching up with the Methodists” in dwindling numbers formerly known as the “mainline decline,” the denomination’s head statistician said June 10. LifeWay Christian Resources recently released figures indicating baptisms reported by churches…
Baptist Scout leader opposes exodus
By Bob Allen The head of Association of Baptists for Scouting says it is neither necessary nor desirable for churches to leave the Boy Scouts of America because the organization no longer excludes youth based on their sexual orientation. A.J….
Blog: Pastor chastises abuse activist
Editor’s note: This story was updated after posting to add comments from First Baptist Church. By Bob Allen A woman who advocates on behalf victims of clergy sex abuse says she was sidelined by her Houston mega-church for planning an…
SBC baptism, membership numbers fall
By Bob Allen Annual baptisms in Southern Baptist churches have declined by 100,000 in the last 12 years, last year dropping to the smallest number in 64 years. LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention released figures June 5…
Baylor receives record gift
By Bob Allen An El Paso businessman has donated $35 million to Baylor University, reportedly the largest gift by a living alumnus in the history of the Baptist-affiliated school in Waco, Texas. The gift by Texas oilman Paul Foster will…
White House holds mental health confab
By Bob Allen President Obama asked the private sector and nonprofit organizations – including houses of worship and other faith-based institutions – to join the government in a national conversation about mental health in the United States during a daylong…
Christians can’t buy Starbucks: speaker
By Bob Allen A guest preacher told worshippers at a prominent Southern Baptist church in Alabama that Christians should not drink Starbucks coffee because the company supports gay marriage. “Starbucks is pouring all this money into destroying traditional marriage,” David…
‘Bootleg preacher’ Will Campbell dies
By Bob Allen Will Campbell, an author, activist and iconoclastic Baptist minister who described himself as a “bootleg preacher,” died June 3 from complications following a stroke suffered in 2011. He was 88. The Mississippi native was one of the…
Dever adds praise for C.J. Mahaney
By Bob Allen Members of Pastor C.J. Mahaney’s Kentucky church plant “don’t fully grasp” their privilege, the embattled Calvinist leader’s defender and friend Mark Dever told the congregation of Sovereign Grace Church in Louisville June 2. Dever, senior pastor of…
Judge asked to reconsider SGM suit
By Bob Allen Attorneys for alleged sexual-abuse victims asked a Maryland judge to reconsider dismissal of a lawsuit due to the state’s three-year statute of limitations. Lawyers Susan Burke and William O’Neil filed a motion May 28 asking Montgomery County…
Calvinist study calls for trust, dialogue
By Bob Allen An ad-hoc task force appointed to study Calvinism’s impact on the Southern Baptist Convention says the 2000 Baptist Faith and Message is a sufficient guide for orthodoxy in the nation’s second-largest faith group behind Roman Catholics. “We…
SNAP leader shames Mahaney supporters
By Bob Allen An activist who advocated for victims during the Roman Catholic sexual-abuse scandal in the United States in 2002 says evangelical leaders publicly rallying behind a minister accused in a lawsuit of covering up sex crimes against children…