Concerns about using church offering money to fund a response to the problem of sexual abuse in the Southern Baptist Convention seemed to disappear June 8 when $4 million was pledged to the cause. Technically, some of that money still…
Faced with damning sexual abuse investigation, some in SBC seek to discredit the investigators
One week before Southern Baptists gather to respond to a damning independent investigation of sexual abuse problems, the lead story on the denomination’s news site is about “controversy” created by Guidepost Solutions tweeting support for Pride month. Guidepost is the…
Next week, SBC messengers will have one thing on their mind
Dozens of business items await messengers to next week’s Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting, but there’s only one thing on everyone’s mind. All eyes are on the SBC to see how it responds to a bombshell report on mishandling of…
Georgia representative says Christian nationalism actually is a good thing
The ever-quotable and ever-controversial Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene has a word of encouragement for Christian nationalists: You’re the hope of salvation for America. Greene, a first-term Republican from Georgia, issued a video June 3 telling her supporters not to listen to…
43 years after launching one of America’s most innovative churches, Rick and Kay Warren name their successors
Saddleback Church has operated differently than a typical Southern Baptist church from the beginning, and that tradition continues in the selection of a successor to founding pastor Rick Warren. The Southern California megachurch — the largest congregation affiliated with the…
Some action items emerge from SBC sexual abuse crisis, but is it too little and too slow?
The Southern Baptist Convention’s Sexual Abuse Task Force has issued a series of responses to the recent Guidepost Solutions investigation that range from suggestions to two action items to be considered by messengers to the SBC annual meeting this summer….
West Texas Baptist university adopts new faith statement with strict emphasis on gender and marriage
Trustees of Hardin-Simmons University in West Texas have adopted a new statement of faith that focuses on “two genetic sexes” and marriage as “a life-long, covenant relationship between one genetic male and one genetic female” as articles of faith. The…
Hannah Kate Williams refiles sexual abuse lawsuit against SBC entities
A large-scale lawsuit against the Southern Baptist Convention alleging a coverup of sexual abuse has been refiled by a new set of attorneys for Hannah Kate Williams. An earlier version of the same charges had been filed in a Kentucky…
Ryan Burge has some important things to say about white evangelicals, partisan politics and the future
If you’re interested in fascinating yet random facts and trends about American religion and culture, follow Ryan Burge (@ryanburge) on Twitter. Burge, who is an American Baptist pastor and a professor at Eastern Illinois University, loves to make graphs. And…