Two weeks ahead of a national conference on caring well for the abused, the Southern Baptist Convention promoted a book by a high-profile pastor accused of mishandling abuse, to the consternation of survivor advocates.
Arkansas Supreme Court, Attorney General, continue to tangle with pastor/judge
The Arkansas Supreme Court won’t restore the authority of a circuit judge who also serves as pastor of a Baptist church to decide death-penalty cases, and the state’s top lawyer wants him barred from any civil cases involving her office in separate but intertwined controversies that began with a prayer vigil protesting capital punishment on Good Friday in 2017.
Helen Graves, wife of one seminary administrator and mother of another, dead at 105
Her great grandmother was a Cherokee who walked the Trail of Tears and she remembered women’s suffrage, but Helen Graves didn’t live long enough to see her dream of a female president. The widow of a longtime seminary dean and mother of a seminary president died Sept. 6, a few months after celebrating her 105th birthday.
Southern Baptist polity on trial in lawsuit appeal
A former Southern Baptist state convention leader claims the separation of church and state does not shield religious organizations from lawsuits over actions that would be illegal if committed by a secular business in a case before the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Once accused of racial insensitivity, Papa John’s founder gives money to black Baptists
Papa John’s founder and former CEO John Schnatter, who left the pizza company last year amid controversy over comments criticized as racially insensitive, recently donated $1 million to historically black Simmons College of Kentucky.
Under pressure, Baptist church drops plans for anti-Muslim program on 9/11
A Baptist church in Michigan has dropped plans to host a controversial 9/11 anniversary event after two members of Congress called it out for spreading Islamophobia.
Southern Baptist megachurch to downsize its campus by 90 percent
First Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida, once one of America’s most influential megachurches, determined Sept. 8 to downsize its downtown property footprint by 90 percent in a cost-cutting move the senior pastor described as necessary for the church’s long-term survival.
Myanmar drops lawsuit against Baptist leader who met with Trump
Myanmar’s military on Monday dropped a lawsuit against a Burmese Baptist leader for comments about human rights he made in a White House meeting with President Donald Trump in July.
Author Q&A: Charles Kimball on ‘Truth over Fear: Combating the Lies About Islam’
In his latest book, “Truth Over Fear: Combating the Lies about Islam,” the Baptist minister and Middle East expert explores a new development in Christian-Muslim relations – the mainstreaming of Islamophobia as a pathway to political success.
Breaking up is hard to do? Notable absences at next year’s Together for the Gospel
A lineup of speakers for the 2020 Together for the Gospel conference announced Sept. 3 excludes a number of familiar faces from past gatherings, suggesting possible rifts in the Neo-Calvinist preaching club sometimes called the young, restless and Reformed.
SBC leader sparks Twitterstorm by equating ‘being human’ with procreation
Albert Mohler, a Southern Baptist Convention leader often described as one of America’s top evangelical thinkers, angered singles and childless couples with a recent tweet claiming “to be human is to be a parent.”
Southern Baptist megachurch denies liability in sex abuse lawsuit
Matt Chandler’s Village Church denied any wrongdoing in its response to a $1 million lawsuit stemming from the alleged sexual assault of an 11-year-old girl at a church camp in 2012.