Attending the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention is, in a word, exhausting. Why any Baptist — pastor or layman — would take several days of vacation time, travel at significant expense, read all the printed reports, participate in…
SBC luminary Morris Chapman dies at 84
Former Southern Baptist Convention leader Morris Chapman died in Nashville Oct. 20 at age 84 after a brief illness. Chapman led the SBC Executive Committee from 1992 through 2010 and was the first leader of that agency installed by the…
SBC Executive Committee won’t pursue countersuit against Hunt
After some debate, the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee declined to accept a suggestion to go on the legal offensive against Johnny Hunt. Hunt, a former SBC president, filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the SBC for defamation after he was…
‘As God is my witness,’ Mohler has changed his tune on ERLC
R. Albert Mohler Jr. has declared another holy war in the Southern Baptist Convention, as if the nation’s largest Protestant denomination needed more side skirmishes among its institutional leaders. In a recent wide-ranging and low-impact interview on the “Baptist21” podcast,…
Remembering Jack Pogue, faithful friend to W.A. Criswell
Tuesday evening, March 18, we received word from a mutual friend that Jack Pogue, the faithful Baptist layman, Dallas-area real estate developer and quiet denominational benefactor, had passed at age 90. At the time of his death, untold scores of millions…
When ‘thy kingdom come’ is a threat more than a blessing
Every election season since I left the final church I was a part of in 2019 is a reminder of why I don’t think I could ever go back. And I know many ex-evangelicals agree with me. I’m writing this…
A cautionary tale of celebrity pastors and family empires
Late last month, Liberty University and its former president, Jerry Falwell Jr., settled for an undisclosed amount to end a multi-year, sprawling set of multi-million dollar lawsuits brought by Falwell against the Lynchburg, Va.-based school. For the world’s “largest evangelical university,” the…
Conservative Baptist Network promotes conspiracy-laden film to be shown on Mid-America Seminary’s campus
An independent film that appears to attack Southern Baptist Convention seminaries as part of the liberalization of American Christianity will be shown this weekend at Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary in Memphis. The screening of Enemies Within: The Church is being…
Fallen Southern Baptist leader props up pro-Trump pastor
In addition to sticking up for Pastor Robert Jeffress, former SBC oligarch Paige Patterson is defending himself against charges of racism.
Former Baptist blogger resigns as congressional aide over Facebook posts
By Bob Allen A congressional aide who 10 years ago as a young pastor helped introduce social media as a force in the Southern Baptist Convention, has resigned his job in Washington following controversy over Facebook posts criticized as racially…