ICE agents who are violently rounding up children from playgrounds and parents from city streets are “doing the Lord’s work,” according to U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, Republican from Ohio. His comments came three weeks after White House staffer Stephen Miller,…
Franklin Graham quits accountability group his father founded
Franklin Graham has quit a financial accountability group his father helped found. The son of the famed evangelist has pulled both the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association and Samaritan’s Purse from membership in the Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability. That group…
SBC Cooperative Program giving declines yet again
Giving to the Southern Baptist Convention’s Cooperative Program unified budget has declined in seven of the past 10 years, with receipts for the year just ended being 4.4% less than a decade ago. The SBC Executive Committee released final fiscal…
The bizarre story of Doug Wilson attempting to buy Christianity Today
In one of the most truly bizarre stories of the week, Julie Roys reported yesterday that Doug Wilson’s Canon Press attempted to buy Christianity Today for $10 million. To which my first response was: “How did Doug Wilson come up…
J. Alfred Smith remembered as giant among preachers and justice advocates
J. Alfred Smith will be remembered in services Oct. 9 and 10 as one of the most influential Black Baptist pastors of his generation. Smith died Sept. 19 at age 94. The congregation he served across four decades, Allen Temple…
Fellowship Southwest is now FaithWorks
Fellowship Southwest has changed its name to FaithWorks. Launched in 2017 as a project of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, Fellowship Southwest has grown in scope and moved beyond its original identity as a network of CBF-related churches in Oklahoma, Texas,…
Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission lauds Kirk, hears from Coach Kennedy
The evangelical Christian church in America is under attack, Jentezen Franklin told members of President Donald Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission at the start of their third meeting Sept. 29. “We’re under attack. It’s not coming. It’s here. Our family and…
David Sills won’t press case against Lyell’s estate
Since Jennifer Lyell is dead, David and Mary Sills will not seek legal damages against her estate but they will continue their litigation against the Southern Baptist Convention and 10 other people or entities. Sills, a former professor at Southern…
Samford professor lauds his president for supporting Charlie Kirk
A professor at Samford University’s Beeson Divinity School has written an op-ed for The Federalist praising his university president for identifying Charlie Kirk “not as right-wing but as a conservative Christian.” It is not clear where Samford University President Beck…
Voddie Baucham dead at 56
Evangelist and theologian Voddie Baucham Jr. died unexpectedly Sept. 25 at age 56. His family said he suffered “an emergency medical incident” and died. The news was reported by Founders Ministries, the group of Southern Baptist Calvinists with which he…
Amid LGBTQ controversy, social work dean ‘steps down’ at Baylor
Jon Singletary is out as dean of the Garland School of Social Work at Baylor University. Provost Nancy Brickhouse informed faculty Sept. 25 Singletary will “step down” effective Oct. 15. The news came just hours before the Garland School’s Board…
Yes, violence is not the answer
Three days ago, as I arrived at the Nashville airport, I watched ICE agents detain a well-dressed Hispanic young man and disappear him through a side door as masses of travelers streamed by, no one stopping to notice what was…