This story now includes significant updates below. After weeks of making national headlines, the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee has gone virtually silent about its internal workings and its relationship to the SBC Sexual Abuse Task Force. The two top…
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 Sexual Abuse Task Force has lost one-third of its time to delays, but now the work may begin
Nearly four months after messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting overwhelmingly approved appointment of a Sexual Abuse Task Force, the work can begin, although the panel has lost fully one-third of its allocated time before a report is…
SBC sexual abuse task force believes Executive Committee lawyers intend to ‘fight over every document’ needed for the investigation
Lawyers for the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee have indicated they will “fight over every document” requested in the sexual abuse investigation demanded by messengers to the SBC annual meeting, according to the Sexual Abuse Task Force. The already intense…
Who are the key players behind the SBC Executive Committee’s response to a sexual abuse investigation?
The present crisis within the Southern Baptist Convention over how to handle allegations of sexual abuse isn’t Ronnie Floyd’s first experience responding to such sensitive matters. Before taking the helm of the SBC’s powerful Executive Committee, Floyd was pastor of…
New details emerge about how SBC Executive Committee wants to control the sexual abuse investigation, as outrage mounts among other Southern Baptist leaders
Less than a day after the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee again declined to follow the explicit request of convention messengers, the resulting governance meltdown spread to the leadership of other agencies who fear they will lose funding from SBC…
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…
If pickles had souls, would the SBC Executive Committee still ignore the will of SBC messengers?
On Tuesday, Sept. 21, the single greatest threat to the future of the Southern Baptist Convention since the controversy of the Conservative Resurgence was revealed. It was not revealed to be a liberal drift, inerrancy versus non-inerrancy, women preachers, the…
SBC faces a test of its governance with tug-of-war over sexual abuse investigation
The Southern Baptist Convention currently faces one of the greatest tests ever of its internal governance while also fending off serious accusations of mishandling sexual abuse claims. This dual problem consumed the Sept. 20-21 meeting of the SBC Executive Committee…