Update: The first reading of the constitutional amendment was approved by ballot vote, with 74.66% in favor and 25.09% against. The amendment must get a second vote of two-thirds approval at next year’s annual meeting to be adopted. Messengers…
Behind SBC’s missions agenda: Eternal conscious torment
The headlines each year going into the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting seem to focus on Southern Baptists’ latest attempts to put women in their place and keep them there. Whether they were voting to remove Rick Warren’s Saddleback Church…
Conservative reformers win SBC presidency
For the first time in 35 years, a reform candidate has been elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention, defeating an institutional candidate. Florida pastor Willy Rice — who withdrew from the presidential race in 2022 — won the presidency…
How can you afford not to? A Southern Baptist timeshare presentation
The first time I ever went to a Busch Gardens theme park, I was made to sit through a timeshare pitch. I still wasn’t old enough to sample the swill of the park’s namesake, so I admit to you I…
Praying for my Southern Baptist siblings about women in ministry
Baptists are a big part of my life story. If you are scratching your head about why this third generation, Methodist-all-her-life pastor would say such a thing, keep reading. Baptists are a big part of my story because I live…
The way we were
“Remember the days of old; consider the generations long past,” says Deuteronomy 32:7. Once upon a time, people who called themselves Southern Baptist had a firm conviction that they were autonomous churches cooperating with other churches of what we called…
Colorizing the SBC’s one-paint-can resolution on euthanasia
Cancer has reduced my father’s robust frame to skin-covered bones. His bombastic voice has deflated to a chirping whisper. But his 84-year-old blue eyes still sparkled when he abruptly made a comment that, to fully appreciate, requires decades of context….
Understanding Al Mohler’s case against women
The so-called Mohler Amendment to prohibit women from functioning as pastors in Southern Baptist churches is being hailed by his minions as “critical for us at this juncture.” According to Brian Arnold, pastor of First Baptist Church Paducah, Ky.: “In…
BNG podcasts feature each SBC presidential candidate
In less than a week, about 12,000 messengers are expected to arrive in Orlando for the 168th annual session of the Southern Baptist Convention. Leading the concerns facing church representatives are the election of a new convention president and a…
BWIM puts up a billboard in Orlando
Messengers to next week’s Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting who arrive in Orlando by plane will be greeted by a surprising billboard on their drive from the airport to the convention center. Baptist Women in Ministry has purchased space on…
It’s that season again
It’s that season again. For the third year in a row, two important things are happening at the same time in my life. The first is vacation Bible school. Next week, the hallways of our church will be covered in…
Why Mohler’s take against female podcasters misses the mark
Recent remarks by Al Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, asserting women should not interpret Scripture on podcasts, have sent shockwaves across the Southern Baptist Convention and throughout the evangelical world. Mohler’s bizarre comments regarding female podcasters have laid…