Real estate has been at the heart of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary’s story from the beginning and now once again could offer a financial lifeline. Faced with an unspecified but clearly significant financial problem, the Fort Worth, Texas, seminary has…
Layoffs begin at Southwestern Seminary
Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary has begun laying off staff as part of a financial restructuring approved by trustees earlier this month. No information was made public about how many layoffs were happening and who was affected. Baptist Press, in-house news…
Hardin-Simmons faculty overwhelmingly vote no confidence in president
Three-fourths of the faculty of Hardin-Simmons University have affirmed a “no confidence” vote in President Eric Bruntmyer. BNG confirmed the action with multiple sources with direct knowledge of the faculty vote, and the Baptist Standard confirmed the news with HSU…
Ralph Elliott, author of Genesis commentary that began the SBC’s battle for the Bible, dies
Ralph Elliott, the seminary professor whose commentary on Genesis became symbolic of the battle over biblical literalism in the Southern Baptist Convention, has died at age 97. Elliott died Sunday, Oct. 23, in Paoli, Pa. A family funeral service was…
Only one-fourth of Republican parents say children should be taught the legacy of slavery still affects Black people today — and other findings from a new Pew survey
Parent eruptions at local school board meetings over the past couple of years are based in real and dramatic differences of opinion about what should be taught in America’s public schools, according to new data from Pew Research. For example,…
Another baker puts a same-sex wedding case in the legal oven, where there’s no recipe from the Supreme Court
Because the U.S. Supreme Court has not yet given lower courts a recipe for what religious freedom rights should be given to wedding vendors, yet another cake baker has a case in the legal oven now. It was a different…
New Saddleback pastor affirms women as preachers, SBC conservatives want constitutional amendment to exclude churches that affirm women as pastors
The battle over women serving as pastors in the Southern Baptist Convention took on new heat this week when the new pastor at Saddleback Church affirmed his belief that both men and women are qualified to preach and when a…
When voting based on the economy is the wrong thing to do
There’s a long tradition in American politics of voting based on economic interests. We shouldn’t be surprised that gas prices and food prices have a direct bearing on who people vote for or against. But there are good reasons not…
Samford denies professional group for LGBTQ law school students
Once again, Samford University has denied a request to allow a group for LGBTQ students — this time excluding students in its highly rated Cumberland School of Law. In 2017, the Birmingham school forfeited $3 million a year in institutional…