A pastor campaigning to become president of the Southern Baptist Convention has called for the interim leader of an SBC ethics agency to be fired because he signed onto a letter urging compassion for women who have abortions. Tom Ascol,…
The year of being threatened by smart women
Editor’s note: This story has been updated at the end with additional comments from Beth Allison Barr and Anthony Bradley. Maybe 2021 was the year of feeling threatened by smart women. That is, if you’re a white male conservative evangelical…
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Baptist pastor who in October filed suit against a former Southern Baptist Convention agency head for defamation has withdrawn the suit, explaining that he trusts God to take care of him and judge the matter.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…
How the SBC employs the Sodom Strategy to avoid talking about real sexual abuse
Growing up in the Atlanta suburbs during the 1990s, I roamed about with much greater freedom than 9- and 10-year-olds enjoy today. But each time my mother released my sister and me to gallivant unsupervised around the mall or Six…
Former NRB spokesman who was fired for talking about getting the COVID vaccine has been hired to relaunch an ethics and culture center at Southwestern Seminary
The former spokesman for the National Religious Broadcasters who was fired for talking positively about COVID-19 vaccines has been hired to restart an ethics and public policy center at a Southern Baptist Convention seminary. Dan Darling, former senior vice president…
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…
Is the future of evangelicalism with the Christianity Today ‘elite’ or with the firebrand neo-Calvinists?
Mark Galli is best known in the United States as the former editor in chief of Christianity Today who took on Donald Trump as being morally unfit for the presidency. Late last week, he lit another fire, this time not…
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 task forces hires the same investigative firm the Executive Committee wanted but on different terms
The independent firm originally hired by the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee to investigate itself has been chosen for that task again — this time by the special task force created by SBC annual meeting messengers in a rebuke to…