The quest for absolute purity in opposing women carrying the title “pastor” is now dividing the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention, the conservative breakaway group formed in 1998. SBTC was formed as an alternative to the Baptist General Convention of…
SBC launches new sexual abuse helpline
After scathing criticism of its current sexual abuse hotline, the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee launched an alternative help line Aug. 18. The announcement came from the SBC Executive Committee’s Office for Abuse Prevention and Response. The new hotline is…
Why I am staying: A call to reform the SBC from within
Change can feel like the hardest thing in the world. It brings forth tension — fear, anxiety, worry and even anger. We often see change as an enemy to fight, something to survive rather than embrace. But some change is…
With two leadership roles open, will SBC embrace a younger generation?
Wanted: Creative leaders who have a spine but are flexible enough to accommodate diverse opinions and changing political tides. Must be Southern Baptist. Only males need apply. With not-unexpected news of the resignation of Brent Leatherwood as president of the…
Leatherwood quits ERLC
The embattled president of the Southern Baptist Convention Ethics and Religious Liberty Committee resigned July 31. Brent Leatherwood tendered his resignation with no apparent future employment lined up. He has been the lightning rod for criticism from the far right…
Fundamentalism and biblical inerrancy lite in the Global Methodist Church
When, on May 1, 2022, the Global Methodist Church announced itself to the world, more than 2,000 churches already had taken advantage of the disaffiliation process to break with the United Methodist Church. At the time of the announcement, I…
Baptists in Australia, New Zealand and Canada wrestle with LGBTQ inclusion
Like it long has in the U.S., disagreement over same-sex marriage and congregational autonomy are also driving a wedge between Baptists in Australia. Divisions began to simmer in 2022 when the New South Wales and Australian Capital Territory Baptist Association…
How a group of Presbyterians is trying to reshape the SBC
Imagine, if you will, an enormous wooden horse encamped outside the Southern Baptist Convention headquarters. Downtown Nashville’s bachelorettes, bar hoppers and backup singers stop and stare at the giant horse with “Center for Baptist Leadership” emblazoned on its barrel. William…
The inhumanity of SBC leaders’ indifference
“Where are the SBC leaders who will call Allen Jordan to account?” This was the question Mark Wingfield posed in a June 24 column, and I’ve been pondering it ever since. In part, I ponder this because it’s personal —…
Where are the SBC leaders who will call Allen Jordan to account?
For a decade now, the Southern Baptist Convention has abided a voracious liar in its midst and done nothing publicly to silence him. That liar is Allen Jordan, who lives in Houston and is the most persistent denier of a…
‘All the Buried Women’ podcast weaves a story of women and abuse in the SBC
Beth Allison Barr is well-known for her two bestselling books — The Making of Biblical Womanhood and Becoming the Pastor’s Wife — but now she’s added podcaster to her resume. Baylor University students know Barr as a history professor, but…
What a database can’t do
It is a dark irony that people who claim to stand for truth can so effectively bury the truth about abuse. Although it never should have been her story, Jennifer Lyell was one of many who bravely reported abuse at…