Jack Harwell, a 40-year Baptist journalist who stood against censorship of the denominational press, died Friday, Jan. 18, at age 86. A memorial service is scheduled Saturday, Jan. 26 at First Baptist Church of Morrow, Georgia, where he served the…
LifeWay to close stores in shift to digital strategy
A number of LifeWay Christian Stores face closure, LifeWay Christian Resources president Thom Ranier said in a e-mail to employees Jan. 15.
CBF elects Georgia pastor Paul Baxley as executive coordinator
Paul Baxley, a 49-year-old pastor who has been active in the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship his entire ministry, has been named the organization’s fourth executive coordinator. He begins duties in March. On Tuesday the CBF Governing Board voted unanimously to hire…
SBC president who said God hears only Christian prayers dead at 79
Bailey Smith, the former Southern Baptist Convention president best known for saying God does not hear the prayers of a Jew, died Jan. 14 after a 21-month battle with pancreatic cancer. Smith, 79, was the youngest man ever elected SBC…
SBC leader says APA guidelines on ‘toxic masculinity’ do not square with Scripture
New American Psychological Association guidelines labeling “traditional masculinity ideology” bad for male health aren’t sitting well with religious leaders who hold a “complementarian” view of what the Bible teaches about gender.
Nashville Statement controversy goes Dutch
About 250 pastors are in Dutch after their names appeared on a translated document by fundamentalist Christians in the United States being received in the Netherlands as bigotry against the LGBTQ community.
Professor’s firing leads to outside review of teaching at Baptist university
A Baptist university in Missouri has invited independent review of teaching in its religion department after firing a professor who accused colleagues of doubting whether sinners who die without Christ must suffer eternally in hell.
Jimmy Allen, visionary denominational leader, dies
Jimmy R. Allen, the last moderate president of the Southern Baptist Convention and executive director emeritus of the New Baptist Covenant, died early Jan. 8 at Southeast Georgia Health System in Brunswick, Georgia.
Retiring CBF head Suzii Paynter takes job with Pastors for Texas Children
Pastors for Texas Children, a non-profit organization that advocates for public schools, announced Jan. 7 that Paynter has joined the staff as a ministry co-director.