A federal lawsuit that combines questions of religious liberty, defamation and the meaning of Baptist autonomy has been appealed to the United States Supreme Court. The Southern Baptist Convention’s North American Mission Board, the defendant in the original 2017 case,…
State conventions beyond the South question SBC North American Mission Board’s spending and accountability for church planting
A decade-long disagreement over how Southern Baptists fund church planting and missions in North America is coming to a head and threatens the sanctity of the denomination’s spirit of cooperative giving. The result: State conventions outside the South are reducing…
NAMB lawsuit tests when courts can – and cannot – resolve disputes in religious bodies
A common law doctrine long used to determine when disputes within a religious entity require intervention by civil courts took center stage in oral arguments Feb. 6 in the 5th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in New Orleans.
NAMB denies defaming former state convention exec
The Southern Baptist Convention North American Mission Board denied defaming or interfering in the employment of a former Baptist state convention executive director in a response filed May 18 to a lawsuit in federal court. NAMB attorneys claimed former Baptist…
Former state exec sues NAMB for libel, interference in business relationships
A former Baptist state convention leader who claimed last year his firing was orchestrated by the head of a Southern Baptist Convention agency has filed a defamation lawsuit alleging, among other things, his picture was displayed at the welcome desk…
State convention ‘saddened and disappointed’ by claims of former exec
Officials of a regional association of Southern Baptists disputed the account of a former executive director who claims he was fired because of interference by the denomination’s North American Mission Board. Shannon Baker, director of communications for the Baptist Convention…
State Baptist exec blames firing on interference from SBC agency
A former Baptist state convention executive says what was reported last June as his resignation was actually a firing orchestrated by state convention leaders under pressure from the head of the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention….
Military asked to clarify proselytizing ban
By Bob Allen Two Southern Baptist Convention leaders issued a statement May 6 asking the military to clarify what it means by making “proselytizing” a punishable offense. Kevin Ezell, head of the SBC North American Mission Board, which oversees chaplains,…