By Bob Allen An Alabama Baptist church fired its new pastor after his recent arrest on sexual abuse charges in Texas, but it isn’t the pastor’s first time in jail. Mark Allen Green, 41, in jail under a $500,000 bond…
The staffing dilemma
By Bill Wilson There is a revolution taking place in the way traditional congregations hire, manage and compensate their staff. Some of it is healthy and overdue, some of it is painful and short-sighted. As traditional congregations entered the 21st…
For cause of conscience
By Bill Leonard In 1611, as they prepared to leave Amsterdam and return to England, members of the earliest Baptist congregation wrote a confession of faith, asserting that when members of the Body of Christ “come together” they “may and…
Mohler says churches ill-prepared for gay marriage
By Bob Allen A Southern Baptist seminary president says American Christianity lacks credibility to confront same-sex marriage because of its own failure to model marital fidelity and life-long commitment in churches. Albert Mohler “We have to understand that where we…
War on women?
By Bill Leonard Tertullian, third-century theologian, wrote of woman: “You are the Devil’s gateway. You are the unsealer of that forbidden tree. You are the first deserter of the divine law. You are she who persuaded him whom the Devil…
A conservative at the Baptist sexuality conference
By Mike Glover As one of recently few attendees who is — and intends to remain — traditionalist in my ethic of sexuality, I found last weekend’s [Baptist] Covenant on Sexuality and Covenant a unique experience. I heard many speakers…
Sexuality conference not your parents’ Baptist church
By Joe Phelps It seems appropriate that the [Baptist] Conference on Sexuality and Covenant met in Atlanta, home of columnist Lewis Grizzard, author of Shoot Low, Boys: They’re Ridin’ Shetland Ponies. I followed Grizzard’s advice, assuming this gathering, co-sponsored by…
Pastor says SBC should repudiate and/or replace Richard Land
An influential black pastor says the Southern Baptist Convention should repudiate remarks about race by the head of its ethics commission, and if Richard Land does not repent he should be fired. Dwight McKissic, pastor of Cornerstone Baptist Church in…
CBF council reviewing revised 2012 Task Force report
By Bob Allen A two-year study charting the future for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship is now in the hands of the group’s Coordinating Council, which votes May 1 on the final report in time for it to be published and…