The Austin Stone Community Church, a prominent megachurch with a popular worship band in Austin, Texas, announced the dismissal of its worship pastor, Aaron Ivey, on the grounds of “predatory manipulation, sexual exploitation and abuse of influence” with multiple men…
Of Henry Blackaby and John the Baptist
Mixed emotions nearly kept me from writing this tribute to Henry Blackaby, who died Feb. 10 at age 88. I hadn’t talked to Henry in years, but long ago, when he was at the height of his influence in the…
About that SBC sexual abuse hotline; it just gets worse
The more time goes by, the more concerned I get about the Southern Baptist Convention’s sexual abuse hotline. For anyone who may be trying to make some kind of risk-benefit analysis in deciding whether to call the hotline, the balance…
From 1925 to 2024: Why the SBC’s funding formula is being questioned a century later
To understand the behind-the-scenes conflict happening between the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee and some of the SBC’s agencies and institutions, understand first that the devil is in the details. Or in the dollars. Or in lack of trust, once…
Morris Chapman is willing to come off the bench and serve the SBC Executive Committee again
As the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee struggles to find a leader and faces attempts by other agency heads to shutter the central organizing group of the denomination, a former president says he is willing to come back and help…
Saga of Little Rock church’s conflict over sexual abuse claims still making headlines
Conflict over sexual abuse claims at one of the largest Southern Baptist churches in Arkansas continues to make front-page headlines in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, which has published 25 articles about Immanuel Baptist Church since December. Seven of those articles have…
New lawsuit against SBC and four churches alleges systemic negligence on sexual abuse
The concept of whether the Southern Baptist Convention is a unified church that can be held liable for sexual abuse that happens in individual congregations will be put to the test yet again in a new lawsuit filed in U.S….
How might the SBC reshape itself next?
Calls for structural change are once again in the air among Southern Baptist Convention insiders, opening the door to possibilities that could significantly reshape the nation’s largest Protestant denomination. Last summer, messengers to the SBC annual meeting took the unusual…
Dragging the SBC into court drags truth into light
The Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee is now involved in more than a dozen lawsuits relating to allegations of sexual misconduct and abuse. That’s in addition to the investigation by the Department of Justice. Hallelujah. I wish it were 100….