By Bob Allen Glorieta Conference Center would have been worth millions of dollars to a commercial developer, but it was sold last year for $1 because leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention agency owning the property say they wanted the…
AWAB asks SBC to recant transgender resolution
By Bob Allen A 21-year-old movement advocating full inclusion of gays in Baptist churches voiced concern that a Southern Baptist Convention resolution on transgender identity will spawn methods similar to “ex-gay” ministries harmful to transgender youth. The board and staff…
SBC passes on discipline of gay-tolerant church
By Bob Allen Contrary to a leader’s forecast, the Southern Baptist Convention did not rebuke a church for challenging the denomination’s policy against gay-affirming congregations at the convention’s 2014 annual meeting June 10-11 in Baltimore. Albert Mohler, president of Southern…
Baylor University files lawsuit against alumni association
By Ken Camp About five months after Baylor University’s chief lawyer sent a letter insisting the Baylor Alumni Association “cease and desist” using Baylor’s licensed trademarks, the university filed a lawsuit against the independent organization. Baylor filed the suit in…
CBF staff shifts will align group with organizational recommendations, says leader
By Jeff Huett New shifts and promotions in personnel announced June 12 will align the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship with recently adopted organizational changes, said Suzii Paynter, the group’s executive coordinator. “These shifts are an important part of CBF living into…
Protestors say Southern Baptists not taking clergy sex abuse seriously
By Bob Allen The mother of a child sex abuse victim who is suing a Maryland ministry with ties to leaders in the Southern Baptist Convention said June 11 that a “good-old-boy” network among evangelical preachers is just as effective…
Baptist higher education group approves major reorganization
By Robert Dilday A higher education association representing 47 Baptist-affiliated colleges and universities has approved a reorganization plan that reduces the number of paid staff members, cuts it budget nearly in half, reduces dues by 50 percent and relocates its…
Slender Man stabbings expose ‘prisoners of the moment,’ Baptist educator says
By Jeff Brumley Baptist educator Brian Foreman believes many Americans are living in the moment — only, not in a good way. Rather than being in the present in the spiritual sense, they are narrowly focused on events in a manner…
Southern Baptists resolve to love the transgender sinner
By Bob Allen The Southern Baptist Convention has condemned acts of abuse or bullying against people who identify as a gender different than the one assigned at birth but said the transgender experience is not supported by Scripture. In a…
Southern Baptists say Holy Writ, not Hollywood, proves heaven is for real
By Bob Allen The Southern Baptist Convention passed a resolution June 10 warning against books and movies suggesting that near-death experiences prove the existence of heaven or hell. A resolution on “the sufficiency of Scripture regarding the afterlife” says many…
SBC clarifies ‘friendly cooperation,’ updates criteria for church affiliation
By Bob Allen Messengers to the June 10-11 SBC annual meeting in Baltimore approved without discussion changes to the SBC constitution defining what it means to be “in friendly cooperation” with the convention — the language used for congregations that qualify…
Motion asks SBC to discipline gay-affirming pastor
By Bob Allen A former Southern Baptist Convention vice president asked new officers to consider discipline against a California congregation that recently broke ranks with the denomination’s view that all homosexual behavior is a sin. Wiley Drake, pastor of First…