“I have no quarrel with you, good Sir Knight,” says King Arthur, “but I must cross this bridge.” “None shall pass!” declares the Black Knight. “I move for no man!” So one of the most farcical fight scenes in cinema…
Yet another group forms to turn the SBC in a more conservative direction
Another new group has emerged in the struggle for control of the Southern Baptist Convention — a tug-of-war between traditionalist conservatives and ultra-conservatives. The Center for Baptist Leadership was introduced on social media March 8 by William Wolfe, a conservative…
A word in praise of Baptist Press
File this under “Things I Never Thought I’d See.” Last Friday, the official news service of the Southern Baptist Convention published a 2,300-word news story about the tarnished legacy of Paul Pressler. For the first time, the BP story acknowledges…
The Department of Justice has closed its investigation of the SBC — maybe?
To add further intrigue to the Southern Baptist Convention’s reckoning with sexual abuse in its churches, the denomination announced March 6 that a federal investigation into the SBC has been closed — but abuse survivors who say they are in…
Southern Baptist theology set me up for sexual abuse
I grew up in a fundamentalist Southern Baptist church in Georgia. I was on the “cradle roll” from the time I was six weeks old, and I was at church “every time the doors were open,” as the saying goes….
Seminary president nominated to lead SBC Executive Committee
After 30 months without a permanent leader, the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee could be on the brink of hiring a president. California seminary president Jeff Iorg, 65, has been nominated for the post by a search committee that has…
For decades, BJC struggled to live up to its ‘joint’ representation of Blacks and whites
Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty in Washington, D.C., is and has been an institution long championed by moderate and progressive Baptists for its defense of religious liberty for all people. Since 1936, Baptists from across geographic and racial lines…
Letter to the Editor: Speaking ill of the dead
February 25, 2024 Dear Editor: Ken Chafin was a friend of mine. I could not believe what the Baptist pope, Al Mohler, said about my dead friend. It says something about his lack of character to belittle a dead man. The…
Barber apologizes for ‘Monopoly money’ quip while mission board presidents say they won’t give money to launch new commission
The $2.5 million to $5 million reportedly needed to launch an independent commission to address and prevent claims of sexual abuse in Southern Baptist Convention churches will not come from the SBC’s two mission boards, their presidents said Feb. 21….
Pressler’s power ensnares an unlikely victim, Al Mohler
Poor Al Mohler. He’s Paul Pressler’s latest victim. “How can that be?” you ask. “Nobody has enjoyed Southern Baptist Convention prominence as famously and magnificently as Al Mohler.” That’s true, of course. Mohler came along at just the right time…
SBC’s budget takes a hit after more than a decade of inflation losses; Executive Committee expels four churches
A decade ago, the Southern Baptist Convention received $190,468,781 in Cooperative Program gifts from its churches nationwide. For the new year beginning Oct. 1, 2024, the proposed Cooperative Program budget is about the same: $190,250,000. By one measure, giving to…
Churches that support women in ministry should leave the SBC preemptively
Once again, the SBC Executive Committee has decided that a church who called a woman as their senior pastor should be disfellowshipped. This time, the church is Immanuel Baptist Church in Paducah, Ky., where Katie McKown was called to become…