By Bob Allen Baptist preachers opposing a ban on discrimination in housing, employment and public accommodations based on sexual orientation in Frankfort, Ky., don’t speak for all members of the Baptist faith, moderate and progressive ministers contended in an op-ed…
Cherry picking the Bible
A few weeks ago Neale Donald Walsch had a post on Huffington Posts’s Religion blog entitled “Buffet-Style Bible Believers” to which I’ve wanted to respond, but have had little time until now. The message of the post is nothing new….
Baptists boot scouts from Alaska church
By Jeff Brumley A Baptist congregation in Alaska has booted a local scouting troop because of the Boy Scouts of America decision to welcome openly gay members. The Anchorage Daily News reported that Anchorage Baptist Temple dropped its sponsorship of…
Homosexuality and the Bible
By Luke Smith In the recent decision of the Supreme Court in United States vs. Windsor, the court struck down the federal law defining marriage exclusively as a monogamous union of a man and woman. I have been asked by…
Gay minister’s trespassing trial begins
By Bob Allen The trial for an openly gay ordained Baptist minister and his partner arrested in January for refusing to leave a government building where they were denied a marriage license begins today in Louisville, Ky. Pretrial hearings were scheduled…
A queer baptism testimony
By Kirsten Brownsmith We know that God’s chosen people are the destitute, those who hunger and thirst for both sustenance and justice. But both privilege and oppression have a lot of layers, and it is rare to find a person…
Church ‘eviction’ sparks controversy
By Bob Allen A Southern Baptist church planter in New York City said he never intended the firestorm of criticism that started with him writing a blog about losing the congregation’s meeting place after promoting a sermon series about sexuality….
Baptists take sides in ordinance debate
By Bob Allen Baptist clergy are lining up on both sides of a debate about a proposed fairness ordinance dividing city commissioners in Frankfort, Ky. Hershael York, a professor at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and pastor of Buck Run Baptist…
Book challenges ‘gendered’ pulpit
By Bob Allen A “gendered” pulpit that defines what a preacher looks like as exclusively straight and male hinders women and members of the LGBT community from leadership in preaching and worship, theologian, author and Baptist pastor Angela Yarber says…