The head of a Baptist religious liberty watchdog agency voiced disappointment with Tuesday’s Supreme Court decision upholding President Donald Trump’s so-called Muslim ban. “We are deeply disappointed by the Supreme Court’s refusal to repudiate policy rooted in animus against Muslims,”…
Cooperative Baptists trek to border for prayer, advocacy outside migrant child care center
A Cooperative Baptist Fellowship subsidiary organized a weekend vigil outside a former Walmart in Brownsville, Texas, re-purposed as the country’s largest migrant child care center to pray for children separated from their families while seeking asylum in the United States….
Amid #MeToo fallout, Southern Baptist males quietly leaving jobs
An official in the 2,100-church South Carolina Baptist Convention has stepped down for unspecified reasons, adding to a number of men quietly leaving Southern Baptist jobs in recent weeks. The Baptist Courier reported June 19 the resignation of Mark Aderholt,…
Competing Baptist bodies grapple with their identity in Dallas
As national media flocked to Dallas to watch the Southern Baptist Convention reckon with a generational shift in thinking about women, race and partisan politics, one light rail stop away a smaller and lesser-known group met under the radar to…
Baptist leaders accuse Justice Department of twisting scripture to defend separating children from families at U.S. border
Baptist leaders joined a chorus of voices criticizing U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions for using the Bible to defend the Trump administration’s practice of separating children from migrant parents at the U.S.-Mexico border. Addressing criticism by church leaders of the…
Southern Baptists boot church for racial prejudice
A quarter century after apologizing to African-Americans for white ancestors who supported slavery and Jim Crow segregation, the Southern Baptist Convention has kicked out a church for being too racist. The SBC Executive Committee reported June 12 to convention messengers…
As Southern Baptists grapple with #MeToo culpability, an abuse survivor seeks to pay her bills
The day before thousands of Southern Baptists passed a resolution proclaiming a wake-up call to #MeToo-style mistreatment of women in denominational life, Anne Marie Miller continued a month-long struggle to save her family from financial ruin. Miller, a former blogger…
Southern Baptists grapple with #MeToo complicity
The Southern Baptist Convention condemned both perpetrators and enablers of sexual and physical abuse in a resolution June 12 claiming belatedly to position the denomination on the side of victims. “We deplore, apologize and ask forgiveness for failures to protect…
Under fire from #MeToo, embattled Southern Baptist leader withdraws from convention sermon
Southern Baptist leader Paige Patterson has surrendered his assignment of delivering the keynote sermon at next week’s Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting, while denying published reports that led to his recent firing as president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Seminary…
Lawyer counters ‘misrepresentation and misinformation’ about seminary president’s firing
The lawyer for former Southwestern Baptist Theological President Paige Patterson says his client did not get a fair hearing before his May 30 firing by the school’s trustees. Fort Worth attorney Shelby Sharpe issued a statement June 4 addressing what…
Supreme Court hands partial win to Christian baker who refused gay wedding request
A divided U.S. Supreme Court sidestepped a decision about whether the Constitution permits bakers, florists and other business owners with religious objections to same-sex marriage to refuse commercial wedding services to gay couples in a June 4 ruling siding with…
Baptist News Global editor leaving to become Episcopal priest
Robert Dilday, editor-in-chief for Baptist News Global and a Baptist journalist for 35 years, is stepping down to become an Episcopal priest. His last official day on the job will be June 5.