Faced with millions of dollars in unbudgeted legal expenses related to sexual abuse investigations, defenses and settlements, the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee will sell its downtown Nashville office building, which is valued at more than $30 million. While that…
Former editor explains how the Boston Globe broke the Catholic abuse story
The Houston Chronicle’s “Abuse of Faith” newspaper series about sexual abuse in the Southern Baptist Convention likely would not have been possible without an earlier expose of the Roman Catholic Church published by the Boston Globe, that paper’s former editor…
Special extra episode of ‘Stuck in the Middle with You’
BNG’s new podcast series, “Stuck in the Middle with You,” dropped a new special episode earlier today focused on the case of Jane Roe against Southwestern Seminary and its former president, Paige Patterson. Cohosts Mark Wingfield and Benjamin Cole discuss…
Texas court makes public 10,000 pages of sealed documents in sexual abuse case
More than 10,000 pages of highly confidential and legally protected information from a sexual abuse victim’s case against Paige Patterson and Southwestern Seminary were published publicly online for about three days this weekend. The apparent clerical error occurred as case…
Yandell v. Kanakuk lawsuit amended to include civil conspiracy claims
Logan Yandell’s lawsuit alleging misdeeds by Kanakuk Kamps and other relevant entities, including ACE American Insurance Co., has been amended to include civil conspiracy claims. Count 1 of the lawsuit outlines the ways leadership at the two companies allegedly committed…
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…
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…
Max Lucado will fill in at Gateway Church through the fall
It’s the church equivalent of the star of one popular TV show making a guest appearance for a story arc on a different popular TV show. There, it’s called a “crossover.” Seldom has there been a crossover in church life…
Johnny Hunt tells his side of the story, including his definition of ‘adultery’
Johnny Hunt finally got to tell his side the story about what happened at a beachside condo in 2010, when he is accused of sexually abusing a pastor’s wife the age of his own daughters. In a court deposition taken…