By Bob Allen A victims’ advocate says she believes it’s important to talk about a Southern Baptist megachurch’s mishandling of alleged child sex abuse 25 years ago so other churches don’t repeat the same mistakes today. “This is a story…
Music minister charged with child exploitation
By Bob Allen A Southern Baptist music minister remains in custody after his Oct. 16 arrest by the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force in LaGrange, Ky. Howard Key Chambers, 62, minister of music at DeHaven Baptist Church in La Grange,…
SNAP says SBC leader poor choice for prayer chairman
By Bob Allen A national support group for clergy sex-abuse victims called on the National Day of Prayer Task Force to reconsider its choice for 2015 honorary chairman because of unanswered questions about his handling of abuse allegations in the…
Youth minister charged with sexual abuse
By Bob Allen A 37-year-old Southern Baptist youth minister is under arrest in Sasche, Texas, on charges stemming from an alleged inappropriate relationship with a 14-year-old girl. Derek Hutter, minister to students at South Garland Baptist Church in Garland, Texas,…
Maryland high court denies abuse lawsuit appeal
By Bob Allen Maryland’s highest court of appeal declined Sept. 22 to review what has been described as largest evangelical sex-abuse case to date, leaving intact lower-court decisions dismissing the class-action lawsuit on legal technicalities. The Court of Appeals, the…
Parents sue Second Baptist, Houston, over daughter’s abuse
By Bob Allen A Southern Baptist megachurch in Texas is being sued by parents of a teenage girl claiming careless hiring and supervision of a former youth minister in prison for sexual assault of a child. A lawsuit filed Oct….
God made them male and female: The LGBT issue, part 12
By David Gushee Follow David: @dpgushee There are only four passages of Scripture widely quoted on the traditionalist side that I have not yet considered: Genesis 1:26-28/2:18-25, Matthew 19:3-12 (and parallels), and Romans 1:26-27. Despite differences in content and background,…
Two odd little words: the LGBT issue, part 11 (Revised)
By David Gushee Follow David: @dpgushee In 1 Corinthians 6:9 and 1 Timothy 1:10, Paul (in the second case, probably a pseudonymous “Paul”) deploys two “vice lists” — a common enough rhetorical strategy in the Greco-Roman world — to communicate…
Former youth minister faces abuse charges
By Bob Allen A former Southern Baptist youth minister arrested Aug. 20 in Texas on a warrant has returned to Alabama to face charges of sexual abuse. Charles “Kyle” Adcock, 31, appeared Sept. 12 in Colbert County District Court in…
Two odd little words: The LGBT issue, part 11
By David Gushee Follow David: @dpgushee Several weeks ago I wrote a letter to my ethics survey class here at Mercer University’s McAfee School of Theology. One line read: “Thanks for the name-hugs.” Imagine a scholar studying the writings of…
Church seeks dismissal in abuse lawsuit
By Bob Allen A Southern Baptist church in Alabama asked a federal judge Sept. 9 to dismiss a lawsuit alleging liability for child sex crimes committed by a former minister. Highland Park Baptist Church in Muscle Shoals, Ala., filed a…
The sins of Sodom (and Gibeah): The LGBT issue, part 9
By David Gushee Follow David: @dpgushee Traditionalist Christians on the LGBT issue argue that there can be no legitimate same-sex relationships because they are banned by the Bible. Thus even where traditionalists acknowledge the existence of enduring same-sex orientation, they…