On Tuesday, Sept. 21, the single greatest threat to the future of the Southern Baptist Convention since the controversy of the Conservative Resurgence was revealed. It was not revealed to be a liberal drift, inerrancy versus non-inerrancy, women preachers, the…
SBC faces a test of its governance with tug-of-war over sexual abuse investigation
The Southern Baptist Convention currently faces one of the greatest tests ever of its internal governance while also fending off serious accusations of mishandling sexual abuse claims. This dual problem consumed the Sept. 20-21 meeting of the SBC Executive Committee…
SBC task forces hires the same investigative firm the Executive Committee wanted but on different terms
The independent firm originally hired by the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee to investigate itself has been chosen for that task again — this time by the special task force created by SBC annual meeting messengers in a rebuke to…
Judge delays trial date for Jane Roe’s case against Patterson and Southwestern Seminary
Two-and-a-half years after Jane Roe filed suit in federal court against Paige Patterson and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, the trial date has been delayed yet again. On Sept. 2, Sean Jordan, U.S. district judge for the Eastern District of Texas,…
New lawsuit accuses SBC Executive Committee, Southern Seminary, Lifeway and others of ‘conspiracy’ to cover up sexual abuse claims
A sweeping lawsuit filed by a victim of alleged sexual abuse at the hands of her Baptist pastor father alleges a conspiracy among several Southern Baptist Convention entities and individuals to defame her and squelch her pleas for relief. The…
When will the church say of abuse, ‘It doesn’t have to be this way’?
“It does not have to be this way.” I am anxiously awaiting my faith community as a whole to say this for women. To say that being abused and harassed as a pastor or layperson can be addressed and not…
Andrew Cuomo, #MeToo, and hypocrisy
The list of public figures demanding Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s resignation is growing. The investigation into sexual harassment complaints yielded credible evidence he harassed 11 women. Now he faces the possibility of impeachment. Just last year, people celebrated Cuomo’s response to…
Accusations against Andrew Cuomo, sexual misconduct in the church and the three myths they have in common
Gov. Andrew Cuomo sexually harassed 11 women in his workplace through nonconsensual touching and inappropriate comments, according to a report published by the office of New York Attorney General Letitia James after an extensive investigation into harassment accusations. During the…
SBC messengers rebuke Executive Committee’s attempt to control investigation of its response to sexual abuse crisis
In a rare and sharp rebuke of its top staff leader, the Southern Baptist Convention on Wednesday, June 16, said the SBC Executive Committee cannot investigate itself as its president, Ronnie Floyd, had attempted to do. Floyd, who has been…