Paige Patterson has written an online post extolling the virtues of independent Baptists and praising them for “keeping the main thing the main thing.” That “main thing,” the former Southern Baptist Convention seminary president said, is evangelism. Patterson’s May 3…
Author of controversial book on sex as ‘icon of salvation’ resigns his pastorate
There’s nothing new about a pastor resigning due to controversy over sex, but now a pastor has resigned because he wrote a controversial book about sex. Josh Butler, co-lead pastor at Redemption Church in Tempe, Ariz., is author of the…
Fallout from SBC Executive Committee spills out online
By some accounts it was an orderly and kind meeting, while by other accounts it was a meeting driven by inappropriate Christian conduct. And in the aftermath of one of the most unusual events in Southern Baptist Convention history, a…
What went wrong at the SBC Executive Committee?
True confession: I have something in common with Adron Robinson. I, too, have chaired a failed search committee. But my experience was on a local-church level, not on a national denominational level. Nevertheless, I have more empathy for the chair…
SBC Executive Committee rejects nominee for president
In an unprecedented historical moment, trustees of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee have rejected — by a wide margin — the nominee to become president of the powerful SBC coordinating group. Jared Wellman, pastor of Tate Springs Baptist Church…
The good news and bad news of our latest mass murder
The good news is, it’s still against the law in Texas to kill an entire family in cold blood. The bad news is, it’s just fine in Texas for an unstable man to possess an AR-15 semiautomatic assault rifle and…
A storm is brewing ahead of the purported nomination of an SBC Executive Committee president on Monday
This story was updated Sunday afternoon, April 30, to include information published by Baptist Press. The nominee to become president of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee has drawn public opposition over the weekend even before his nomination was publicly…
Despite extensive tornado damage on campus, OBU students will return to in-person classes Monday
Students at Oklahoma Baptist University will return to most campus buildings for two final weeks of in-person classes this semester, President Heath Thomas reported April 26. Every building on the Shawnee, Okla., campus was damaged by tornadoes and high winds…
Why are weddings so expensive today and why are so few held in churches?
Thirty-eight years ago this summer, Alison and I said “I do” in a wedding ceremony at our home church in Albuquerque. We splurged and hired trumpeters for the simple ceremony. The crowd of 150 friends and family celebrated with us…