As we reflect back on 2021, one theme will be how three of the major conservative evangelical denominations have become compromised by sexual abuse and sexual abuse coverups. The Presbyterian Church in America became embroiled in a scandal over the past…
How the SBC employs the Sodom Strategy to avoid talking about real sexual abuse
Growing up in the Atlanta suburbs during the 1990s, I roamed about with much greater freedom than 9- and 10-year-olds enjoy today. But each time my mother released my sister and me to gallivant unsupervised around the mall or Six…
In highly unusual move, Georgia pastor who lost race for SBC presidency sues former SBC leader for defamation
The Georgia pastor narrowly defeated in his bid to become president of the Southern Baptist Convention this summer has filed a defamation lawsuit against the former denominational employee he believes purposely tanked his candidacy. Mike Stone, pastor of Emmanuel Baptist…
Southern Baptists, attorney-client privilege, and devotion to empire
Unlike many who read Baptist News Global, I hold no nostalgic memories and feelings for the Southern Baptist Convention. I regard the SBC as an institution conceived, birthed and used to associate the gospel of Jesus with white supremacy from…
SBC’s legal counsel quits in protest of Executive Committee waiving privilege in sexual abuse investigation
One week after the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee voted to follow the will of convention messengers over the advice of its legal counsel and waive attorney-client privilege for a sexual abuse investigation, its longtime legal counsel gave notice it…
Decent men of faith and sexual abuse
Before I get into this piece any further, let me admit that decency is a pretty low bar for people of faith. I find that in most churches (I cannot speak for synagogues or temples or mosques), the bar is generally set…
To some, the latest SBC divide over sexual abuse investigation pits what’s morally right against what’s legally prudent
Sometimes the morally right thing to do is not the legally prudent thing to do. Such is the dilemma facing the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee as it meets Tuesday, Oct. 5, to vote — for the third time —…
Who are the key players behind the SBC Executive Committee’s response to a sexual abuse investigation?
The present crisis within the Southern Baptist Convention over how to handle allegations of sexual abuse isn’t Ronnie Floyd’s first experience responding to such sensitive matters. Before taking the helm of the SBC’s powerful Executive Committee, Floyd was pastor of…
New details emerge about how SBC Executive Committee wants to control the sexual abuse investigation, as outrage mounts among other Southern Baptist leaders
Less than a day after the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee again declined to follow the explicit request of convention messengers, the resulting governance meltdown spread to the leadership of other agencies who fear they will lose funding from SBC…