By Jeff Brumley Compared to Southern Baptist Convention resolutions on the Boy Scouts and protection of children from sex predators, the one urging churches to develop intentional, compassionate ministries for the mentally ill got scant attention from local and national…
ERLC leader to work with moderates
By Jeff Brumley The new leader of the Southern Baptist Convention’s moral concerns agency says he hopes to build working relationships with moderate and cooperative Baptists, and that he will not treat those who disagree with SBC positions as adversaries. Russell…
‘Bootleg preacher’ Will Campbell dies
By Bob Allen Will Campbell, an author, activist and iconoclastic Baptist minister who described himself as a “bootleg preacher,” died June 3 from complications following a stroke suffered in 2011. He was 88. The Mississippi native was one of the…
Dever adds praise for C.J. Mahaney
By Bob Allen Members of Pastor C.J. Mahaney’s Kentucky church plant “don’t fully grasp” their privilege, the embattled Calvinist leader’s defender and friend Mark Dever told the congregation of Sovereign Grace Church in Louisville June 2. Dever, senior pastor of…
Judge asked to reconsider SGM suit
By Bob Allen Attorneys for alleged sexual-abuse victims asked a Maryland judge to reconsider dismissal of a lawsuit due to the state’s three-year statute of limitations. Lawyers Susan Burke and William O’Neil filed a motion May 28 asking Montgomery County…
White Baptist led slave church in antebellum South
By Robert Dilday The responses of Christians in the American South toward the institution of slavery and those it enslaved were inconsistent and complex — bequeathing a legacy which continues to complicate racial reconciliation 150 years after emancipation, said the…
Okla. twister spawns God’s wrath debate
By Jeff Brumley The monstrous twister had barely finished its deadly work in Moore, Okla., on May 20 when the usual voices of judgment and condemnation began echoing across the Internet. Westboro Baptist Church’s Fred Phelps Jr. tweeted that the…
Staying calm is key to managing disasters
By Jeff Brumley It’s been a busy year for Baptist disaster-relief coordinators with tornadoes ripping Georgia, Mississippi and Texas, flooding in the Midwest and the fertilizer plant explosion in West, Texas. All of that while conducting long-term recovery operations from…
Spiritual formation growing online
By Jeff Brumley Ministers of spiritual formation are turning to the World Wide Web to counter the interference that hectic schedules, frequent traveling, social media and all the other demands of modern life can have on healthy discipleship. Jayne Davis,…