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…
Southern Baptists, attorney-client privilege, and devotion to empire
Unlike many who read Baptist News Global, I hold no nostalgic memories and feelings for the Southern Baptist Convention. I regard the SBC as an institution conceived, birthed and used to associate the gospel of Jesus with white supremacy from…
SBC’s legal counsel quits in protest of Executive Committee waiving privilege in sexual abuse investigation
One week after the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee voted to follow the will of convention messengers over the advice of its legal counsel and waive attorney-client privilege for a sexual abuse investigation, its longtime legal counsel gave notice it…
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…
To some, the latest SBC divide over sexual abuse investigation pits what’s morally right against what’s legally prudent
Sometimes the morally right thing to do is not the legally prudent thing to do. Such is the dilemma facing the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee as it meets Tuesday, Oct. 5, to vote — for the third time —…
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…