By Bob Allen A Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary student arrested March 17 and charged with sexual assault has been expelled and removed from student housing, officials of the school in Wake Forest, N.C., said March 21. A special chapel service…
Seminary student charged with sexual assault
By Bob Allen A student at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary was arrested Saturday, March 17, and charged with second-degree sexual offense against another male student in a campus apartment. William Birch William Watson “Billy” Birch, 43, was arrested after admitting…
Former teacher, youth pastor indicted on sex charges
By Bob Allen An Alabama grand jury indicted a former teacher and Southern Baptist youth minister March 6 on eight counts of sexual abuse 20 years after he avoided firing from his school-teacher job for similar allegations. Daniel Acker, who…
Pastor found guilty of abuse
By Bob Allen A Southern Baptist pastor was sentenced to five years in prison Feb. 28 after a jury in Texarkana, Ark., found him guilty of sexually assaulting a 3-year-old girl inside his church last April. South Texarkana Baptist Church…
Baptist association asks church with sex-offender preacher to leave
By Bob Allen A Florida Baptist church that recently opened its pulpit to a registered sex offender has been asked to withdraw from its local association of Southern Baptist churches. Jacksonville Baptist Association leaders said March 2 that conversations with…
Children turned away from church while sex offender preaches
By Bob Allen A Baptist church in Florida is barring children from attendance where a registered sex offender has been preaching since the end of January. Jacksonville television station WJXT quoted a woman Feb. 19 who said she was turned…
Pastor’s killer still unfit to stand trial
By Bob Allen An Illinois judge ruled Feb. 10 that a man accused of murdering a Southern Baptist preacher in his pulpit nearly three years ago is mentally unfit to stand trial. Madison County Circuit Judge Richard Tognarelli said there…
Former minister pleads guilty to abuse
By Bob Allen The former pastor of a Southern Baptist church in Maryland pleaded guilty Feb. 7 to sexually abusing a girl in his congregation. Joe Nix Ivey, 74, of Walkersville, Md., confessed to a second-degree sex offense in a…
Seminary trustees to confront president over audit, management issues
By Greg Warner Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary’s board of trustees will meet Feb. 10 in a special session to discuss the leadership of President Phil Roberts, Associated Baptist Press has learned. Trustee sources said the board’s executive leadership will recommend…
SBC agency opposes cockfighting
By Bob Allen The Southern Baptist Convention’s ethics entity has joined in an effort to pass a law making it a felony to own or use a bird for cockfighting in South Carolina. “God never intended for his chickens to…
Church administrator charged with theft
By Bob Allen A former administrator at a prominent North Carolina moderate Baptist church was arrested recently and charged with embezzling more than $136,000 in church funds over a five-year period. Robert Lahr, 49, is accused of taking $136,324.58 from…
Responding to child abuse
By Jim Denison On Nov. 14 the Associated Baptist Press published an essay I wrote on Herman Cain and Joe Paterno. Here’s the background behind my article. I write a cultural commentary for our ministry each weekday morning based on…