The U.S. Supreme Court has denied Will McRaney’s final effort to hold the Southern Baptist Convention North American Mission Board responsible for his 2015 firing as executive director of the Baptist Convention of Maryland and Delaware. In a legal battle…
Conservative lawyer warns of legal overreach by NAMB and SBC
Attacks on the Southern Baptist Convention North American Mission Board are coming not from the left or center but also from the far right, as evidenced by an article published online Feb. 11. The Center for Baptist Leadership — a…
52 Baptist leaders sign amicus brief supporting McRaney
Fifty-two current and former Southern Baptist leaders signed an amicus brief sent to the U.S. Supreme Court Feb. 9 arguing in favor of Will McRaney’s case against the Southern Baptist Convention North American Mission Board. The signatories represent at least…
This week on BNG podcasts
BNG’s reporting on financial obfuscation at the Southern Baptist Convention North American Mission Board is the topic of a new “Stuck in the Middle with You” podcast. Co-hosts Mark Wingfield and Benjamin Cole welcome to the show Jon Bullock, a…
Protest at St. Paul church ignites cries of religious persecution
In a year of political divisiveness, a Sunday protest at a Southern Baptist Church in St. Paul, Minn., has drawn a new line in the sand. Protesters led by former CNN anchor Don Lemon entered Cities Church during Sunday morning…
McRaney takes one last run at NAMB in court
Will McRaney is taking one last stab at suing the Southern Baptist Convention North American Mission Board after a legal setback last fall. McRaney, who was fired as executive director of the Baptist Convention of Maryland and Delaware in 2015…
Inside NAMB’s deficit spiral and the retirees paying for it
When Baptist News Global reported the North American Mission Board was cancelling life‑insurance coverage it long promised to forced retirees, NAMB described the move as painful but responsible “stewardship,” a hard step it said would let the mission board “live within…
NAMB reneges on life insurance promised to forced retirees
“We planned our funerals around that promise.” Bert Ross remembers the paperwork he signed in December 2010, when he and nearly a hundred others were pushed out of the Southern Baptist Convention’s North American Mission Board in a large downsizing….
Fifth Circuit panel rules 2-1 in favor of NAMB and against McRaney
After 17 months of silence, a three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals has ruled 2-1 against Will McRaney and in favor of the Southern Baptist Convention North American Mission Board. The Sept. 9 ruling is the…
Why won’t the SBC be more financially transparent?
Amid all the other headlines at this week’s Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting, you might have missed an important internal debate that happened about financial transparency. To those outside the nation’s largest Protestant denomination, this may not matter. But for…
NAMB skewered for its nonresponse response on Hunt’s compensation
Some of the most conservative media outlets covering Christianity in America are skewering the Southern Baptist Convention North American Mission Board for its policy of communication by obfuscation. Protestia represents the far-far right of American evangelicalism. The latest headline at the…
New date set for Johnny Hunt trial
A new trial date has been set for Johnny Hunt’s lawsuit against the Southern Baptist Convention in which he seeks more than $100 million for damages to his income, reputation and livelihood. That new date falls one week after the…