Baptist News Global
Sections
  • News
  • Analysis
  • Opinion
  • Curated
  • Storytelling
    • Faith & Justice >
      • Charleston: Metanoia with Bill Stanfield
      • Charlotte: QC Family Tree with Greg and Helms Jarrell
      • Little Rock: Judge Wendell Griffen
      • North Carolina: Conetoe
    • Welcoming the Stranger >
      • Lost Boys of Sudan: St. John’s Baptist Charlotte
      • Awakening to Immigrant Justice: Myers Park Baptist Church
      • Hospitality on the corner: Gaston Christian Center
    • Signature Ministries >
      • Jake Hall: Gospel Gothic, Music and Radio
    • Singing Our Faith >
      • Hymns for a Lifetime: Ken Wilson and Knollwood Baptist Church
      • Norfolk Street Choir
    • Resilient Rural America >
      • Alabama: Perry County
      • Texas: Hidalgo County
      • Arkansas Delta
      • Southeast Kentucky
  • More
    • Contact
    • About
    • Donate
    • Planned Giving
    • Letters to the Editor
    • Advertising
    • Ministry Jobs and More
    • Transitions
    • Subscribe
    • Submissions and Permissions
Donate Subscribe
Search Search this site

Walker Knight, founding editor of Baptists Today newspaper and former editor of Home Missions magazine, dead at 95

NewsBob Allen  |  December 3, 2019

Walker L. Knight, a trailblazer in establishing a free and independent Baptist press, died Dec. 1 at age 95.

Knight, a 60-year member of Oakhurst Baptist Church in Decatur, Georgia, was born — in the vernacular of the day — with ink in his veins.

Walker Knight

His father worked as a managing editor in Kentucky. Knight followed in his footsteps, graduating from Baylor University’s school of journalism and working as editor of an Air Force publication and a Texas country weekly.

He went to the Baptist Standard, published by the Baptist General Convention of Texas, in 1950. He served as associate editor under David M. Gardner, who held the post 1944-1954, and stayed on to work under E.S. James, editor from 1954 until 1966.

In 1960 Knight succeeded a retiring John L. Caylor as secretary of the department of editorial service of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Home Mission Board. One of the denomination’s oldest entities, the HMB merged in 1997 with the Brotherhood Commission and Radio and Television Commission to form the SBC North American Mission Board.

As editor of Home Missions magazine, later called Missions/USA, Knight and his staff exercised editorial freedom to cover stories they believed advanced the cause of home missions. For Knight and his editorial team, that meant dealing openly with racial attitudes, national ethical concerns, women’s role in ministry, social justice issues and an openness to new ideas.

Knight’s forthright approach sometimes put him at odds with conservative pastors, churches and denominational leaders holding to a less holistic view of missions. A 1967 cover story on civil rights leader William Holmes Borders, pastor of Wheat Street Baptist Church in Atlanta and spokesman for the city’s poor and dispossessed, prompted hundreds of readers to cancel subscriptions and calls for Knight to be fired.

Emmanuel McCall, an African-American minister who served on the executive staff of the Home Mission Board from 1968 until 1991, described the magazine as “perhaps the most effective communication piece that caused Southern Baptists to become more open and sensitive to racial reconciliation.”

Knight retired early after nearly 34 years in denominational journalism — including 24 years at the Home Mission Board – to pursue his long-time dream of establishing an independent Southern Baptist newspaper to fill what he saw as a void between the narrow focus of SBC missions magazines and narrow geographical interests of Baptist state newspapers.

Three years into the fundamentalist takeover of the Southern Baptist Convention, a group of moderate leaders had determined to establish a national publication to counter propaganda from the right.

Knight, at the time facing increasing restrictions on editorial content during a change in HMB leadership, jumped at the opportunity to explore the creation of a national newspaper free from the pressure to suppress stories viewed by denominational overseers as unpleasant.

Knight envisioned a publication that would report the news as fairly and objectively as possible with editorial commentary clearly labeled as opinion. Jim Newton, news editor at the Home Mission Board, suggested the name SBC Today, evocative of a then-new national newspaper published by Gannett, USA Today.

At age 59, Knight began working for half the salary he was earning at the Home Mission Board to start up the new publication as a mission project of Oakhurst Baptist Church. The first issue came out in April 1983.

In his first editorial, Knight described the need for a national publication “for the discussion of issues which deals with the entire spectrum” of Baptist news.

“Being autonomous, SBC Today can best serve Southern Baptists in presenting news and opinion,” Knight wrote. “All publications, religious or secular, are pressured at times to report something less than the truth or full disclosure. Those of us within the profession of journalism can never be so arrogant as to feel we always achieve such reporting fully or fairly; however, that is the criterion by which we wish to be judged.”

SBC Today established mutually beneficial partnerships with the Alliance of Baptists, founded in 1987, and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, formed in 1991. The paper was renamed Baptists Today in 1991 and today is called Nurturing Faith Journal & Bible Studies.

“He challenged Baptists and others to live out the gospel of justice and inclusion — when it challenged their cultural norms,” John Pierce, executive editor and publisher of Nurturing Faith, wrote in an article reporting Knight’s death over the weekend.

Bob Ballance, a former editor of Baptists Today, remembered Knight as “a prophet full of wisdom and insight” in a tribute posted on Facebook.

Ken Sehested, who worked down the hall from Knight at Oakhurst Baptist Church at Seeds Magazine and later at the Baptist Peace Fellowship of North America, described him as “an indefatigable blessing to others.”

Lanny Peters, his pastor for 28 years, said “there was no one more encouraging and supportive and ready to offer his gifts to serve” than Walker Knight.

Baptists Today honored Knight in 2008 with its annual Judson-Rice Award recognizing individuals who demonstrate significant leadership while maintaining the highest integrity.

Associated Baptist Press, forerunner to Baptist News Global, presented Knight with its Religious Freedom Award in 1998.

Funeral services are scheduled at 2 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 14, at Oakhurst Baptist Church in Decatur, Georgia. A reception will follow.

 

Tags:DeathsBaptists TodayBaptist JournalismWalker KnightNurturing FaithSBC Today
More by
Bob Allen
  • Get BNG headlines in your inbox

  • BNG dinner will bring together Anthea Butler and Beth Allison Barr for a conversation on race and gender

    Two of the most prominent voices speaking to the American church about race and gender will appear together at the Baptist News Global dinner during the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s General Assembly in Dallas this June. Get your tickets now!

  • Featured

    • Intolerable cruelty is killing us

      Opinion

    • Another racist mass shooting and our failure to tend Jesus’ sheep

      Opinion

    • Baptists in Ukraine continue their humanitarian work amid devastation

      News

    • Sadly, I agree that a complementarian seminary shouldn’t offer women degrees in pastoral theology

      Opinion


    Curated

    • Don’t buy Alito’s assurances: here’s what happens next after Roe falls

      Don’t buy Alito’s assurances: here’s what happens next after Roe falls

      May 19, 2022
    • Leading Psychologist Bridges Trauma Healing and the Black Church

      Leading Psychologist Bridges Trauma Healing and the Black Church

      May 19, 2022
    • For some people, religious leaders might be most effective at communicating the importance of COVID-19 vaccination

      For some people, religious leaders might be most effective at communicating the importance of COVID-19 vaccination

      May 19, 2022
    • Former pastor in 2 states pleads guilty to child sex charges

      Former pastor in 2 states pleads guilty to child sex charges

      May 19, 2022
    Read Next:

    ‘It’s still the economy, stupid’

    NewsMark Wingfield

    More Articles

    • All
    • News
    • Opinion
    • Curated
    • Sadly, I agree that a complementarian seminary shouldn’t offer women degrees in pastoral theology

      OpinionAnna Sieges

    • Baptists in Ukraine continue their humanitarian work amid devastation

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Intolerable cruelty is killing us

      OpinionKris Aaron

    • Louisville police training quoted Bible verse to say officers are God’s agents of wrath

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Another racist mass shooting and our failure to tend Jesus’ sheep

      OpinionEmily Holladay

    • Becoming UNSTOPPABLE Christians

      Paid Promoted Content

    • Transitions for the week of 5-20-22

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • Learning about change from Henry Ford

      OpinionBob Newell

    • ‘It’s still the economy, stupid’

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Hymn stories: ‘Christ is alive! Let Christians sing’

      OpinionBeverly A. Howard

    • Pennsylvania Baptist church licenses transgender man for ministry

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Gifts of hospitality in the midst of grief

      OpinionSara Robb-Scott

    • Bubba-Doo’s gets a new sign

      OpinionCharles Qualls

    • Buffalo massacre is more evidence of white Christian nationalism, sociologists say

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Why American democracy is threatened in Ukraine

      AnalysisRodney Kennedy

    • Displaced by the war in Ukraine, some African students battle to continue their education in Germany

      NewsAnthony Akaeze

    • Conservative or liberal? Jesus widens our political landscape

      OpinionRussell Waldrop

    • Does the Johnson Amendment have any teeth left?

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Letter to the Editor: A response to Laura Ellis on abortion and Christian Realism

      OpinionLetters to the Editor

    • The Beloved Community and the heresy of white replacement: How ‘Beyoncé Mass’ gave me hope after the Buffalo massacre

      OpinionRobert P. Jones

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • Roe v. Wade, the great divider

      AnalysisErich Bridges

    • The Holy Spirit: An advocate, comforter and encourager for times like these

      OpinionBarry Howard

    • Brian Dawkins says he’s blessed

      NewsMaina Mwaura

    • The air of gathered worship: A 12-Sunday challenge

      OpinionPaul R. Gilliam III

    • Baptists in Ukraine continue their humanitarian work amid devastation

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Louisville police training quoted Bible verse to say officers are God’s agents of wrath

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Transitions for the week of 5-20-22

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • ‘It’s still the economy, stupid’

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Pennsylvania Baptist church licenses transgender man for ministry

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Buffalo massacre is more evidence of white Christian nationalism, sociologists say

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Displaced by the war in Ukraine, some African students battle to continue their education in Germany

      NewsAnthony Akaeze

    • Does the Johnson Amendment have any teeth left?

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • Brian Dawkins says he’s blessed

      NewsMaina Mwaura

    • Bailey and Perrin named Vestal Scholars

      NewsBNG staff

    • Professor writes book to explain his journey from inerrantist to historicist

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • SBC presidential candidate wants ERLC leader fired for joining 75 other pro-life leaders in urging compassion for women who have abortions

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • $100 million gift to Samford is state’s largest to higher education

      NewsBNG staff

    • No formal name change proposed for SBC, and entities report back on use of NDAs in annual Book of Reports

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • Accountability to God increases sense of well-being, study finds

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • Campbellsville University custodian receives degree after stopping education in the 1990s

      NewsLinda Waggener

    • Progressives need to stop letting Christian nationalists set the agenda, author asserts

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • In reelection year, Texas governor proposes statewide voucher program for private schools

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • There’s a path for Ukrainian refugees to the U.S. but the process remains too slow

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • After days of unrest sparked by religious clashes, Ethiopians are beginning to get back to normal life

      NewsAnthony Akaeze

    • Ministry jobs and more

      NewsBarbara Francis

    • First review of SBC sexual abuse report begins today

      NewsMark Wingfield

    • In Charlottesville, an effort to reuse bronze from Lee statue for new public art

      NewsJeff Brumley

    • United Methodist Church split draws celebration, lament and soul-searching

      NewsCynthia Astle

    • Sadly, I agree that a complementarian seminary shouldn’t offer women degrees in pastoral theology

      OpinionAnna Sieges

    • Intolerable cruelty is killing us

      OpinionKris Aaron

    • Another racist mass shooting and our failure to tend Jesus’ sheep

      OpinionEmily Holladay

    • Learning about change from Henry Ford

      OpinionBob Newell

    • Hymn stories: ‘Christ is alive! Let Christians sing’

      OpinionBeverly A. Howard

    • Gifts of hospitality in the midst of grief

      OpinionSara Robb-Scott

    • Bubba-Doo’s gets a new sign

      OpinionCharles Qualls

    • Conservative or liberal? Jesus widens our political landscape

      OpinionRussell Waldrop

    • Letter to the Editor: A response to Laura Ellis on abortion and Christian Realism

      OpinionLetters to the Editor

    • The Beloved Community and the heresy of white replacement: How ‘Beyoncé Mass’ gave me hope after the Buffalo massacre

      OpinionRobert P. Jones

    • The Holy Spirit: An advocate, comforter and encourager for times like these

      OpinionBarry Howard

    • The air of gathered worship: A 12-Sunday challenge

      OpinionPaul R. Gilliam III

    • Choose Life: Putin reminds us how bad theology can turn nuclear

      OpinionJillian Mason Shannon

    • I’m disappointed with the world but still wanting to hope

      OpinionRuss Dean

    • Racism from the perspective of a white man

      OpinionTerry Austin

    • ‘The Religion of the Lost Cause’ is back, and it may be winning

      OpinionBill Leonard, Senior Columnist

    • What is a Baptist?

      OpinionH. Stephen Shoemaker

    • Assessing the damage Twitter has done to American Christianity

      OpinionMark Wingfield

    • In our dystopian world, I’m leaning into the Korean concept of han

      OpinionSusan M. Shaw, Senior Columnist

    • Letter to the Editor: Wingfield is wrong on ‘performative Christianity’

      OpinionLetters to the Editor

    • Do or donut; there is no try

      OpinionBrett Younger

    • Will we be silent as stones or voices of light?

      OpinionPhawnda Moore

    • It is a lie

      OpinionDwight A. Moody

    • A brief history of the Hateful Faithful threat to democracy through the Supreme Court

      OpinionWendell Griffen

    • Gov. DeSantis should learn a lesson from Southern Baptists about taking on Disney

      OpinionRodney Kennedy

    • Don’t buy Alito’s assurances: here’s what happens next after Roe falls

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Leading Psychologist Bridges Trauma Healing and the Black Church

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • For some people, religious leaders might be most effective at communicating the importance of COVID-19 vaccination

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Former pastor in 2 states pleads guilty to child sex charges

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • A rabbi who ‘speaks to Christians’ condemned them on Twitter. It cost him his job.

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Deadly explosion damages historic church, Baptist offices in Cuba

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Faith on the ground in Buffalo: Voice Buffalo executive director Denise Walden

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • What Is Antisemitism? Evangelicals Favor Different Definitions

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Russian Religious Communities Opposed To Ukraine War Face Pressure And Censorship

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Pope’s recipe to heal his painful knee? A shot of tequila

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Why Not All Pro-Lifers are Celebrating

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Montana pastor J.D. Hall, Pulpit&Pen founder, charged with DUI, carrying weapon

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Grove City board accepts full CRT report, says college promoted CRT

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • What you need to know about the antisemitic ideology behind the Buffalo shooting

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • What is ‘personhood’? The ethics question that needs a closer look in abortion debates

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Interfaith group asks Starbucks to drop vegan milk surcharge

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Cuba hotel explosion badly damaged major Baptist church

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Op-Ed: Conservative Christians will regret overturning Roe. They’re sacrificing religious liberty to do it

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • The Global COVID-19 Summit left children off its agenda. The church should not.

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Deconstructing? There’s a coach for that.

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • No more murder charge for women in Louisiana abortion bill

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Vatican Expresses ‘Concern’ Over Cardinal Zen Arrest For Ties To Pro-Democracy Fund

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Study: Girls raised by Jewish parents outperform Christian girls academically

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Hong Kong police bail Catholic cardinal arrested on national security charge

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    • Report: Christians May Have Helped Run Half of Native American Boarding Schools

      Curated

      Exclude from home pageBNG staff

    Conversations that Matter.

    © 2022 Baptist News Global. All rights reserved.

    Want to share a story? We hope you will! Read our republishing, terms of use and privacy policies here.

    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
    • LinkedIn
    • RSS