My home church always will feel like a home to me — not because of the building or the denomination, but because of the people. I am Baptist enough to believe the people are the church. Like so many others,…
Why I stay in the SBC as an ordained woman
That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. — 2 Corinthians 12:10 I was ordained alongside my husband on a Sunday afternoon in…
Nobody dislikes Southern Baptists more than Al Mohler
I am disappointed in Al Mohler for a great many reasons. But the Doug Wilson podcast appearance last week is an unsurprising development in a pattern of disappointments. Mohler has a proven history of disregarding the very people he is…
Marginalized leaders already are leading
As Pride Month unfolds, the Southern Baptist Convention has once again made headlines by reaffirming its opposition to women serving as pastors. At nearly the same moment, recent Department of Defense actions affecting the recognition of several religious traditions raised…
It’s bad interpretation, not the Bible, limiting female pastors
The Southern Baptist Convention’s recent vote to further restrict women from pastoral leadership has reopened a debate many Baptists thought was settled long ago. Their denial of the Holy Spirit’s gift of ministry to women equally to men is reminiscent…
Tell the stories of women in church leadership, Vanderbilt dean urges
Women have served in ministry throughout the history of the church even as their courage and tenacity have been mostly overlooked and forgotten, said theologian Yolanda Pierce, dean of the Vanderbilt University Divinity School. Therefore, it is important to begin…
Why are we still calling ourselves ‘moderate’ Baptists?
A few weeks ago, I sat with a Baptist leader who described himself as a “moderate Baptist.” He meant it as a compliment, and most people in our circles would receive it that way. After all, “moderate” is one of…
The CBF witness is more important now than ever
When I was growing up in Eastern Kentucky, I spent most of my time inside the doors of our Southern Baptist church. Sunday mornings, Sunday nights, Wednesday evenings — I was there. We were one of those small “church plants”…
Consider the cost of staying in the SBC
Although I left the Southern Baptist Convention several decades ago, I still keep up with them, especially during their annual meetings. This year’s SBC gathering, like all the others since I left, both saddened and disturbed me, including the constitutional…
Pastors announce formation of The Baptist Network
A group of Baptist pastors announced formation of The Baptist Network to foster collaboration and encouragement between minsters and congregations in a time of intense social and political conflict in the American church. “While affirming historic Baptist convictions, the Network…
I grieve for SBC women
I grew up in a Southern Baptist church. I attended Sunday school as a child in a Southern Baptist church. I made a public profession of faith, accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, and was baptized at the age…
To understand today’s SBC, listen to history
Across America this week, Baptist women are carrying a familiar weight. Some are pastors who have faithfully answered the call of God, only to watch the Southern Baptist Convention debate whether God possibly could have called them. Some are seminary…