It should come as a surprise to exactly no one that the platform of the Republican Party aligns more closely with resolutions passed by the Southern Baptist Convention than does the platform of the Democratic Party. What might be surprising,…
First episode of new BNG podcast series now available
The first episode of BNG’s new limited podcast series, “Stuck in the Middle with You,” is now available for download and streaming. Find the podcast on Podbean, Spotify, Amazon Music, iHeart Radio, Player FM, Samsung, Podchaser and BoomPlay. The podcast…
BNG launches new podcast series on the state of the SBC
BNG debuts a new podcast series this week titled “Stuck in the Middle with You.” The podcast series features BNG Executive Director Mark Wingfield in dialogue with Benjamin Cole, also known as The Baptist Blogger. The first episode will drop…
Letter to the Editor: I am the unnamed source
Dear Editor: Mark, mystery solved. Please let your BNG readers know that I am the “rogue, non-professional, lone ranger source” that provided the Abuse of Faith information to Phillip Robertson that you referenced in your Aug. 5 article. It was irresponsible for…
A cautionary tale of celebrity pastors and family empires
Late last month, Liberty University and its former president, Jerry Falwell Jr., settled for an undisclosed amount to end a multi-year, sprawling set of multi-million dollar lawsuits brought by Falwell against the Lynchburg, Va.-based school. For the world’s “largest evangelical university,” the…
Megan Basham sharply criticized for outing Johnny Hunt’s alleged abuse victim
A prominent religion reporter has lambasted far-right culture warrior Megan Basham for exposing the name of Johnny Hunt’s alleged sexual abuse victim in her new book. Evangelical Twitter is lit up with critiques of Basham’s book, Shepherds for Sale, that…
The SBC’s trustee system is broken
We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again now: The Southern Baptist Convention’s system of electing trustees to oversee its agencies and institutions is broken and in need of dramatic reform. The latest evidence comes from the bizarre turn…
Breaking news: Leatherwood reinstated at ERLC, board chairman acted alone
Note: This article was updated Tuesday afternoon, July 23, to include new information about Kevin Smith. The chairman of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission acted alone in firing President Brent Leatherwood yesterday, and Leatherwood remains…
ERLC removes president one day after kind word about Biden
Editor’s note: This article replaces and updates a previous article posted just two hours earlier. One day after Brent Leatherwood offered a gracious comment about President Joe Biden bowing out of the presidential race, he was fired as head…