“It does not have to be this way.” I am anxiously awaiting my faith community as a whole to say this for women. To say that being abused and harassed as a pastor or layperson can be addressed and not…
Global church must confront gender-based violence with honest view of Scripture, BWA told
Christians must join efforts to combat the plague of gender-based violence around the world, but not without the church also repenting for its historic and ongoing role in perpetuating abusive attitudes and behaviors toward women, the Baptist World Alliance was…
On Father’s Day, lessons from home, from church, from the SBC — and a better way to be a parent
My father and I are estranged and have been for several years now. I don’t mean for this to sound dramatic, because it isn’t. But just because something isn’t dramatic doesn’t mean there isn’t still pain. Especially around Father’s Day….
Let’s not forget about single mothers
When I think of the many sounds that came out of my house growing up in Orlando, Fla., I hear my mother yelling at the top of her lungs every morning in praying over my sister and me. In fact,…
What the SBC should learn from the Ravi Zacharias tragedy
According to an investigative report released earlier this month, deceased celebrity evangelist Ravi Zacharias abused multiple women with “sexting, unwanted touching, spiritual abuse and rape.” The evidence is overwhelming. The details are stark and nauseating. Many have described the report…
CBF North Carolina leaders react to arrest of minister at partner church
Cooperative Baptist Fellowship leaders in North Carolina condemned abuse in a special meeting May 15 responding to the May 7 arrest of a minister at a CBF partner congregation charged with sexual exploitation of a minor.
SBC leadership group reserves judgment about churches named in media reports about abuse
A Southern Baptist Convention leadership group announced on Saturday it has cleared seven of 10 churches called out by SBC President J.D. Greear for possible “wanton disregard” of sexual abuse.
Former staffer at SBC megachurch charged with child sex crime
A former children’s minister at a Southern Baptist megachurch in Texas has been indicted and is being prosecuted for indecency with a child stemming from allegations involving a minor at a church youth camp in 2012. Matthew David Tonne, 35,…
SBC leader says APA guidelines on ‘toxic masculinity’ do not square with Scripture
New American Psychological Association guidelines labeling “traditional masculinity ideology” bad for male health aren’t sitting well with religious leaders who hold a “complementarian” view of what the Bible teaches about gender.