The phrase “antithetical to the gospel” has become a favorite way to shut down ideas with which Christians disagree. Don’t like someone else’s theology or politics or social views? Just declare those views “antithetical to the gospel,” and that’s that….
‘No, Beth Moore, I will not take your phone away’
It has been four months since Beth Moore publicly cut ties with the Southern Baptist Convention. Since that time, Moore has oscillated between prophetic and apologetic as she hones her new post-SBC voice. One moment she’s publicly calling out “hyper-complementarianism”…
Baylor, ‘biblical sexuality’ and the good news
On May 14, the Baylor University board of regents released a statement on human sexuality and identity. In it, the regents affirmed the dignity of all students “regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity,” committed to providing a supportive educational…
Largest church in SBC ordains three women as pastors
The largest church affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention ordained three women as ministers May 6, sending shock waves through the male-centric leadership of the nation’s largest non-Catholic denomination. Saddleback Church, founded by Pastor Rick Warren and his wife, Kay,…
Where are the women in American evangelicalism?
Where are the women in American evangelicalism? The first answer that comes to mind might be “everywhere.” Women form the majority of evangelical congregations and can be found leading music, participating in small groups, teaching children and planning events, among…
Now Beth Moore is taking on patriarchy in the church
Just a month after making headlines by announcing her departure from the Southern Baptist Convention, popular author and Bible teacher Beth Moore launched a second salvo against the male-dominated leadership of the SBC. In a tweet April 7, she apologized…
Ryan Burge sifts the data to paint an evolving portrait of the ‘nones’
There was a time, not all that long ago, when no minister, denominational leader or seminary administrator ever heard of — or worried about — a “none.” That’s partly because there wasn’t yet a name for religiously unaffiliated Americans, partly…
It was a bad week for women, but it wasn’t unusual
In case you didn’t notice, women had a very bad week. In Georgia, a Southern Baptist man shot and killed eight people, six of whom were women of Asian descent, because he wanted to eliminate temptation because of his sex…
The righteous and the wicked: The progressive Baptist quest for a new gospel
For decades, progressive white Baptists have opened leadership roles at the highest level to women and people of color. But Black Baptists have shown a greater willingness to affiliate with the conservative Southern Baptist Convention than with more moderate groups…
Beth Moore and a lost Southern Baptist Convention
Religion News Service reporter Bob Smietana broke the story this week that famous Bible study leader Beth Moore is leaving the Southern Baptist Convention and ending the mutually lucrative publishing relationship with their Lifeway group. She claimed that the SBC…
Is the Beth Moore Effect a feminist awakening?
Beth Moore’s recent defection from the Southern Baptist Convention has been a long time coming. Moore built her career modeling Southern Baptist, submissive womanhood, but her public witness has challenged the gender roles that she, until very recently, defended. Moore’s…
Why Beth Moore’s departure from the SBC really matters
In its own year of racial reckoning, the Southern Baptist Convention just awoke to a high-profile gender reckoning as well. Beth Moore, the popular Bible study teacher and author who for years has maintained the line of being a “teacher”…