Another new group has emerged in the struggle for control of the Southern Baptist Convention — a tug-of-war between traditionalist conservatives and ultra-conservatives. The Center for Baptist Leadership was introduced on social media March 8 by William Wolfe, a conservative…
A word in praise of Baptist Press
File this under “Things I Never Thought I’d See.” Last Friday, the official news service of the Southern Baptist Convention published a 2,300-word news story about the tarnished legacy of Paul Pressler. For the first time, the BP story acknowledges…
The Department of Justice has closed its investigation of the SBC — maybe?
To add further intrigue to the Southern Baptist Convention’s reckoning with sexual abuse in its churches, the denomination announced March 6 that a federal investigation into the SBC has been closed — but abuse survivors who say they are in…
Southern Baptist theology set me up for sexual abuse
I grew up in a fundamentalist Southern Baptist church in Georgia. I was on the “cradle roll” from the time I was six weeks old, and I was at church “every time the doors were open,” as the saying goes….
Ed Young calls immigrants ‘undesirables,’ ‘garbage’ and ‘raff’
A former president of the Southern Baptist Convention and a leader in the denomination’s “conservative resurgence” told his Houston megachurch Feb. 25 migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border are “undesirables, “garbage” and “raff.” Roaming back and forth on a stage adorned…
Letter to the Editor: Speaking ill of the dead
February 25, 2024 Dear Editor: Ken Chafin was a friend of mine. I could not believe what the Baptist pope, Al Mohler, said about my dead friend. It says something about his lack of character to belittle a dead man. The…
Hope roots in truth-telling and grows with action
“People speak of hope as if it is this delicate, ephemeral thing. … It’s not. Hope has dirt on her face, blood on her knuckles, the grit of the cobblestones in her hair, and just spat out a tooth as…
Barber apologizes for ‘Monopoly money’ quip while mission board presidents say they won’t give money to launch new commission
The $2.5 million to $5 million reportedly needed to launch an independent commission to address and prevent claims of sexual abuse in Southern Baptist Convention churches will not come from the SBC’s two mission boards, their presidents said Feb. 21….
Pressler’s power ensnares an unlikely victim, Al Mohler
Poor Al Mohler. He’s Paul Pressler’s latest victim. “How can that be?” you ask. “Nobody has enjoyed Southern Baptist Convention prominence as famously and magnificently as Al Mohler.” That’s true, of course. Mohler came along at just the right time…