After a months-long saga of media coverage, internal infighting and an exodus of members and deacons, Pastor Steven Smith of Immanuel Baptist Church of Little Rock, Ark. tendered his resignation via a letter to his congregation last night. As previously…
How does a pastor survive a 59% vote of confidence?
Life moved on, and somehow I missed that two weeks ago the deacons of Immanuel Baptist Church in Little Rock, Ark., finally took a vote of confidence in Pastor Steven Smith. According to published reports, 59% of those voting supported…
Saga of Little Rock church’s conflict over sexual abuse claims still making headlines
Conflict over sexual abuse claims at one of the largest Southern Baptist churches in Arkansas continues to make front-page headlines in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, which has published 25 articles about Immanuel Baptist Church since December. Seven of those articles have…
Little Rock church hired Josh Duggar’s lawyer then reversed course after lay leaders protest
It has been less than three weeks since the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette broke the story of a Little Rock church’s failure to notify members of alleged sexual abuse of minors, and the story continues to take twists and turns. The latest…
On Al Mohler, Paige Patterson, Bill Clinton, Immanuel Baptist Church and Baptist polity and politics
“Local church autonomy” is a Baptist distinctive selectively used. As evidence, consider Al Mohler’s position on Immanuel Baptist Church in Little Rock, Ark., 25 years ago when then-President Bill Clinton was a member there. Mohler, relatively new as president of…
More details emerging of Little Rock church’s abuse problem
The saga of how a prominent Southern Baptist church in Little Rock, Ark., mishandled knowledge of child sex abuse continues to reverberate through a denomination already at odds with itself over how to respond to abuse claims. What makes the…
Prominent Arkansas SBC church accused of hiding knowledge of former staff member’s abuse of child
A former Southern Baptist children’s minister accused of child sexual abuse has asked an Arkansas court to seal his record, an effort critics say would hinder other potential victims from coming forward. Meanwhile, the Southern Baptist church where he last…