Enrollment at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary stabilized last year, after a 20-year trend of decline. While one year does not make a trend, the increase of eight students in the seminary’s full-time equivalent headcount as measured by the Southern Baptist…
Of Henry Blackaby and John the Baptist
Mixed emotions nearly kept me from writing this tribute to Henry Blackaby, who died Feb. 10 at age 88. I hadn’t talked to Henry in years, but long ago, when he was at the height of his influence in the…
With three weeks until statewide deadline, school district of ‘chaplain’ bill’s author is set to reject it
The school district that is home to the state senator who got a bill passed last year to allow public schools to hire unlicensed “chaplains” to replace licensed school counselor is poised to reject his plan. Sen. Mayes Middleton lives…
From 1925 to 2024: Why the SBC’s funding formula is being questioned a century later
To understand the behind-the-scenes conflict happening between the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee and some of the SBC’s agencies and institutions, understand first that the devil is in the details. Or in the dollars. Or in lack of trust, once…
Morris Chapman is willing to come off the bench and serve the SBC Executive Committee again
As the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee struggles to find a leader and faces attempts by other agency heads to shutter the central organizing group of the denomination, a former president says he is willing to come back and help…
Saga of Little Rock church’s conflict over sexual abuse claims still making headlines
Conflict over sexual abuse claims at one of the largest Southern Baptist churches in Arkansas continues to make front-page headlines in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, which has published 25 articles about Immanuel Baptist Church since December. Seven of those articles have…
New lawsuit against SBC and four churches alleges systemic negligence on sexual abuse
The concept of whether the Southern Baptist Convention is a unified church that can be held liable for sexual abuse that happens in individual congregations will be put to the test yet again in a new lawsuit filed in U.S….
How might the SBC reshape itself next?
Calls for structural change are once again in the air among Southern Baptist Convention insiders, opening the door to possibilities that could significantly reshape the nation’s largest Protestant denomination. Last summer, messengers to the SBC annual meeting took the unusual…
Most states face a shortage of foster parents, yet the community most open to help fears discrimination
As a majority of states in America continue to face a foster care crisis, one of the most interested groups in helping displaced children often fails to volunteer out of fear of rejection. That’s the finding of new research by…