The Southern Baptist Convention’s North American Mission Board wants to exclude from evidence in an upcoming trial the testimony of eight witnesses along with a controversial amicus brief that portrayed the SBC as a connectional hierarchy. The July 28 motions…
Critics say this SBC missions agency appears to be in the real estate business
Rob Wilton may not be a household name to Southern Baptists. But he’s been given nine houses by a Southern Baptist Convention mission board, as documented by public records. Wilton comes from a legacy family within the SBC, which might…
Here’s how to force SBC entities to be accountable to people in the pew about their finances
Within the past week, Baptist News Global has run two news analysis pieces about Southern Baptist Convention agencies and leaders who are not telling people in the pew the full story of their financial situations. There are policies in place…
‘Pastor Johnny’ is the head of a family empire that feeds off the SBC
In modern terms, Johnny Hunt is an “influencer.” Over the last 40 years, he has become someone with the ability to influence thousands of other pastors and even an entire denomination. Perhaps that’s why his naming in the 2022 Guidepost…
Key witness offers damning testimony against Ezell as NAMB gets McRaney trial delayed two months
Depositions are currently under way for the upcoming trial against the Southern Baptist Convention’s North American Mission Board based on allegations by plaintiff Will McRaney — and at least one deposition includes harsh allegations against NAMB President Kevin Ezell. In…
BCMD executive director, also a NAMB vice president, resigns due to ‘moral failure’
Michael Crawford, executive director of the Baptist Convention of Maryland/Delaware, has resigned “due to moral failure involving marital indiscretions which disqualifies him from this position,” the convention’s Administrative Committee announced Saturday, Feb. 4. “This morning we received word from Brother…
Bob Banks, longtime SBC missions leader, dies at 91
Robert T. Banks Jr., a prominent missions leader among Southern Baptists in the second half of the 20th century, died in Atlanta Jan. 19 at age 91. Banks served as executive vice president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Home Mission…
Does NAMB have no clue?
I’ve kept quiet amid the several years of very public clamoring for more financial transparency at the Southern Baptist Convention’s North American Mission Board because I no longer have a dog in that hunt. However, the Ritz-Carlton Hotel is a…
McRaney wins two procedural moves in case against NAMB
Will McRaney last week won two procedural moves in his lawsuit against the Southern Baptist Convention’s North American Mission Board. After years of legal delays — including a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court — the case finally appears headed…
BNG’s most-read news stories were about Matt Chandler, Adam Greenway, Charles Stanley, Johnny Hunt, John MacArthur and the United Methodist Church schism
Controversies involving church and denominational leadership, an impending denominational split, sexual abuse and the contentious figure behind a U.S. Supreme Court ruling approving public prayer led by government officials make up a large share of Baptist News Global’s top 15…
McRaney trial finally gets a date, and NAMB is compelled to expand the scope of its documentation
After five years of legal wrangling, a new date has been set for the case brought by Will McRaney against the Southern Baptist Convention’s North American Mission Board. And that date, ironically, falls the week before the SBC annual meeting….
Panel of four male pastors clears Johnny Hunt to return to ministry
Six months after publicly admitting sexual misconduct, Southern Baptist pastor and denominational leader Johnny Hunt has been cleared to return to ministry by a group of four male pastors who have been counseling him. Of the 70-year-old Hunt, one of…