The recent resignation of Adam Greenway from the presidency of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary has revealed that deep divisions currently exist within the Southern Baptist Convention. While Greenway’s departure from Southwestern has been bemoaned by his supporters, his detractors —…
The inconsistencies of our ethical declarations: Samford’s dilemma
Editor’s note: Bill Leonard served as professor of church history and chair of the Religion Department at Samford University from January 1992 to June 1996. In his 1995 book, The Stem of Jesse: The Costs of Community at a 1960s…
Letter to the Editor: ‘60 Minutes’ and the questions not asked
Letter to the Editor October 10, 2022 Dear Editor: Anderson Cooper’s “60 Minutes” interview of Bart Barber began on a hopeful note. Asked if he believed the 2020 presidential election was stolen, the Southern Baptist Convention president answered: “No.” Asked…
SBC president appears on ’60 Minutes,’ tells Anderson Cooper he couldn’t be a good Christian and Southern Baptist as a gay man
The president of the Southern Baptist Convention sat for an interview with an openly gay journalist and told him on national TV Oct. 9 that he could not be a good Christian and Southern Baptist. On the CBS program “60…
Confirmed: Greenway out at Southwestern Seminary
This story was updated Friday afternoon, Sept. 23, at 3:30 p.m. Central time. Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary confirmed Friday afternoon, Sept. 23, what BNG first reported Thursday evening, Sept. 22: Adam Greenway resigned as president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary…
A Gen-Xer reflects on the progressive-conservative divorce in the former Southern Baptist Convention
I grew up in a family that worshipped the trinity: God, the Southern Baptist Convention and the Dallas Cowboys. I was born in Fort Worth, Texas, while my father was a student at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. By the time…
Abortion ‘abolitionists’ produce documentary accusing the SBC of heresy for not making criminals of women seeking abortions
They’re called “abortion abolitionists,” and their movement is so extreme that it has been rejected by mainstream pro-life groups and the ethics agency of the Southern Baptist Convention. But some pastors at the most far-right edge of the SBC are…
ERLC hires former Republican Party leader to head SBC agency
A former executive director of the Tennessee Republican Party has been named to lead the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. Brent Leatherwood, who has been serving as interim president, was elected to the official post in a…
An entire city with no water doesn’t fit the playbook for disaster relief organizations
When the capital city of Mississippi had no running water for an entire week, government agencies came to the rescue with water distribution outlets, but some of the major faith-based disaster relief organizations were nowhere to be found. Why? The…
Seven years later, Will McRaney might get his day in court against NAMB — maybe
Seven years after he was fired as the leader of a Baptist state convention, Will McRaney may finally get his day in court against the Southern Baptist Convention’s North American Mission Board. After years of legal wrangling, a new trial…
2021 was a very good year for growth in assets for SBC’s largest agencies
The Southern Baptist Convention’s North American Mission Board nearly tripled its investment income in 2021 compared to 2020, according to the latest financial reports published in the SBC Annual 2022. NAMB booked $44.93 million in investment income for 2021, compared…
More questions than answers right now regarding DOJ investigation into SBC
As news spread late last Friday that the U.S. Department of Justice has opened an investigation into the Southern Baptist Convention regarding sexual abuse, many more questions than answers swirled about. And while the DOJ itself has neither confirmed nor…