By Bob Allen A member of the committee that revised the Baptist Faith and Message in 2000 says the growing acceptance of homosexuality and same-sex marriage in moderate and liberal denominations vindicates the wisdom of including a statement on the…
Taking Jesus seriously in East Texas
Kyle Childress doesn’t look like a dangerous radical. If Childress, pastor of Austin Heights Baptist Church in Nacogdoches, Texas, let his neatly trimmed white beard grow out a bit, he would make a passable Santa Claus. And when he pushes…
Former SBC presidents unite against gay marriage
By Bob Allen Sixteen former Southern Baptist Convention presidents released a statement June 16 urging churches to disregard any legal definition of marriage as anything other than the union of a woman and a man. The statement, drafted in a…
CBF Arkansas adds assistant coordinator
By Bob Allen The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Arkansas has named Arkansas native and recent George W. Truett Theological seminary graduate Megan Pike as the organization’s first assistant coordinator. Pike, whose husband, Marty, serves as minister of children and youth…
Volunteerism, vital for missions, transforms individuals and churches
By Brian Kaylor The leaders of faith-based disaster relief agencies know it as they respond to catastrophic weather in Texas. And so does Greg Morrow, pastor of First Baptist Church of California, Mo. What they and others know is that…
SBC asks Supreme Court to rule against gay marriage
By Bob Allen The Southern Baptist Convention called on the U.S. Supreme Court to leave it up to the states to decide whether or not to permit gay marriage in a resolution adopted June 16 in Columbus, Ohio. With a…
President of Northern Seminary to resign next year
By Robert Dilday Alistair Brown announced June 15 he will resign as president of Northern Baptist Theological Seminary at the end of the next academic year. Brown, who has been president of the seminary in suburban Chicago since September 2008,…
SBC ousts another gay-friendly church
By Bob Allen For the second straight year, the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee has voted to oust a church over homosexuality. The Executive Committee took action June 15 against Weatherly Heights Baptist Church in Huntsville, Ala., under a bylaw…
Pray for McKinney while in Dallas, ministers urge CBF Baptists
By Jeff Brumley Baptists and human rights, women in the Old Testament and the benefits of parish nursing are just a few of the topics Fellowship Baptists will be talking about at General Assembly this week. And there’s another topic…
Baptist scholar says Mormonism becoming more Christian
By Bob Allen While political alliances between Southern Baptists and Mormons on issues like same-sex marriage are nothing new, a Baptist scholar says the two camps have more in common theologically than many assume. Roger Olson, a theology professor at…
Churches unhappy with pastors should look in the mirror, consultants say
By Brian Kaylor Church health consultants share common stories about churches that have burned through several pastors in just a few years. During the consulting process, a deacon or other lay leader says something like “we just can’t find a…
Southern Baptist leader applauds crackdown on animal fighting
By Bob Allen The Southern Baptist Convention and Humane Society of the United States were among supporters of legislation cracking down on animal fighting in Tennessee signed into law June 11. Russell Moore, head of the SBC Ethics and Religious…