The very thing Southern Baptist leaders have said for decades cannot be done tops the list of recommended actions from the independent firm that investigated allegations of mishandling sexual abuse cases. Guidepost Solutions says the Southern Baptist Convention should “form…
Whatever happened to Southern Baptists and church autonomy?
Neither one of us had a clue what we were doing 12 years ago, but a friend and I started a church. We didn’t know anything about starting a church, but we knew a great deal about church. Between us,…
Lawsuits in Arkansas, Virginia, test SBC’s local-church-autonomy defense for sexual abuse
Lawsuits in two states challenge the Southern Baptist Convention’s long-claimed defense that the denomination cannot be held liable for sexual abuse in churches because congregations hire their own pastors.
Former state exec says arguments by NAMB attorneys increase SBC’s risk of liability for sexual abuse
For decades the SBC has avoided liability in criminal and civil actions involving churches or affiliated organizations by claiming they are all autonomous, self-governing organizations. But former Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware Executive Director Will McRaney claims in a new court document that lawyers representing NAMB turn that argument on its head.
Illumination Project: On cooperation, transformation and hope
People are frankly weary of “either-or” thinking and conversations that devolve into shouting matches. They want to see an instance where people of good intentions on all sides of a given topic come together to speak their hearts humbly, charitably and respectfully. If we as people of faith can’t offer such a witness, then who can?
Four reasons Ronnie Floyd is both right and wrong
By Mark Wingfield Here’s a sentence I never thought I would write: I agree with Ronnie Floyd. The outspoken Arkansas pastor currently serves as president of the Southern Baptist Convention, and he dropped a bombshell at a recent event when…
Should churches, denominations bear responsibility for unethical clergy? Some ethicists say yes.
By Vicki Brown Ministers are responsible for their actions as individuals, sometimes by civil authorities and ultimately by God. But what responsibility, if any, should the local church and the denomination bear for unethical behavior of their pastors and other…