Editor’s note: This article replaces and updates a previous article posted just two hours earlier. One day after Brent Leatherwood offered a gracious comment about President Joe Biden bowing out of the presidential race, he was fired as head…
Barber easily wins re-election as SBC president
Faced with an unprecedented opponent in his quest for a second term as president of the Southern Baptist Convention, Texas pastor Bart Barber handily won reelection Tuesday, June 13. The congenial pastor-farmer who was a late entry into the race…
Mike Stone has an unlikely nominator for his SBC presidential run
A Florida pastor who had to drop out of the race for Southern Baptist Convention president last year because of accusations brought against him from the most conservative faction of the denomination now will nominate this year’s conservative standard bearer…
SBC presidential candidate describes his church as ‘the strictest of the strict complementarians’
A Georgia pastor making a second attempt to become president of the Southern Baptist Convention described his congregation as “the strictest of the strict complementarians” and said he wishes all SBC churches were as well. “I don’t think that every…
Mike Stone will make repeat run at SBC presidency
A Georgia pastor who has been a standard bearer for the most conservative wing of the Southern Baptist Convention will make a second run to become SBC president at this June’s annual meeting in New Orleans. Mike Stone, pastor of…
In the SBC, a cord of three is not easily broken: Debates about sexuality, gender and abuse all twist together
There’s only one thing Southern Baptist Convention conservatives get more upset about than women serving as pastors: The slightest affirmation of LGBTQ persons. This truth was borne out in the SBC over the last week as leaders sought to put…
A surprising nominee for SBC presidency announced in a surprising way
The most conservative wing of the Southern Baptist Convention bypassed the denominational news service in favor of a conservative political outlet March 22 to announce its slate of two candidates for office when the SBC gathers this June. As if…
Another dispute over SBC’s mishandling of sexual abuse claims breaks out on Twitter, including release of another recorded conversation
The Southern Baptist Convention’s reckoning with abuse continued unfolding in the public eye this week with multiple fiery Twitter exchanges and leaked audio of a confrontation between two male pastors and a female abuse survivor. The kerfuffle began the night…
Vocal critic of SBC leadership leaves denomination over social justice agenda and Litton
One of the most conservative public voices within the Southern Baptist Convention announced Jan. 4 that his Georgia church has left the SBC. Josh Buice is pastor of Pray’s Mill Baptist Church in Douglasville, Ga., and founder of an online…
Mike Stone drops defamation suit against Russell Moore, claiming God will judge
The Southern Baptist pastor who in October filed suit against a former Southern Baptist Convention agency head for defamation has withdrawn the suit, explaining that he trusts God to take care of him and judge the matter. “This was a…
In highly unusual move, Georgia pastor who lost race for SBC presidency sues former SBC leader for defamation
The Georgia pastor narrowly defeated in his bid to become president of the Southern Baptist Convention this summer has filed a defamation lawsuit against the former denominational employee he believes purposely tanked his candidacy. Mike Stone, pastor of Emmanuel Baptist…
SBC Executive Committee declines for a second time to comply with will of convention messengers on sexual abuse investigation
For the second time in a week, members of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee have defied the will of the SBC in annual session — previously considered the final authority in governance — by refusing to waive attorney-client privilege…