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…
Why won’t the SBC be more financially transparent?
Amid all the other headlines at this week’s Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting, you might have missed an important internal debate that happened about financial transparency. To those outside the nation’s largest Protestant denomination, this may not matter. But for…
SBC’s 1,000-word resolution covers nine hot topics
A single resolution adopted by the Southern Baptist Convention June 10 rolls together at least nine hot topics in a single statement that was adopted without notable opposition. Resolution No. 5, titled “On Restoring Moral Clarity through God’s Design for…
57 years ago, student protesters were welcomed at SBC annual meeting
I can regularly count on late May and June as a time when news about the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention begins to circulate. This year was no exception. It seems this year dealing with charges of sexual…
A guide to understanding this week’s conversations about the SBC and sexual abuse
When you hear people talk about sexual abuse claims and the Southern Baptist Convention, it’s not the same as talking about the Roman Catholic Church and sexual abuse. Yes, there are clergy culprits in both religious bodies. And yes, there…
Daughter of Adrian Rogers claims her father’s anointing and mantle
On Monday, June 9, Gayle Rogers Foster spoke at the Southern Baptist Convention Pastors’ Wives and Women in Ministry Conference. She is the daughter of Adrian Rogers, the late pastor of Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, Tenn., and one of…
What happened to the SBC’s Vision 2025 and its $1.25 million?
Southern Baptists arrived in Dallas this week to consider how they will finance mounting legal bills after a spate of lawsuits were filed in the wake of a 288-page report published in 2022. That report detailed at length how key convention…