By Bob Allen A criminal trial scheduled June 25 for a former traveling Southern Baptist evangelist and popular youth speaker charged with video voyeurism has been postponed until July 30, according to a court document obtained recently by Associated Baptist…
SBC gay stance termed ‘holy terrorism’
By Bob Allen A Christian gay-rights activist has charged Southern Baptists with “holy terrorism” for opposing civil rights for homosexuals. A resolution passed June 20 at the 2012 Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting in New Orleans opined that homosexuality “does…
Jesse Jackson welcomes Luter’s election
By Bob Allen African-American activist and Baptist minister Jesse Jackson called the election of the Southern Baptist Convention’s first black president a “step in the right direction” and “a victory for the Civil Rights Movement,” but said it is too…
Old/new churches, old/new realities
By Bill Leonard Southern Baptists have just elected their first African-American denominational president, Fred Luter, pastor of Franklin Avenue Baptist Church in New Orleans. Roman Catholic bishops in the U.S. are promoting a “religious liberty drive against a government and…
“The Blind Side” gets blindsided
Baptist news wires carried the story recently about a successful protest by a Baptist preacher to remove a movie from LifeWay stores. The movie is “The Blind Side,” starring Sandra Bullock. It was based on the book by the same…
When will SBC address clergy sex abuse?
By Christa Brown The Southern Baptist Convention is convening its annual ballyhoo in New Orleans this week, but it doesn’t look as though they will make any progress on protecting kids against clergy sex abuse. Since 2006, clergy abuse survivors,…
Southern Baptists elect black president
By Bob Allen One hundred sixty-seven years after forming over the right to appoint slaveholders as missionaries and 17 years after apologizing for the denomination’s racist past, the Southern Baptist Convention elected its first African-American president June 19. Messengers to…
LifeWay pulls ‘Blind Side’ from stores
By Bob Allen LifeWay Christian Stores will no longer sell videos of “The Blind Side” after a Florida pastor proposed a resolution for next week’s Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting protesting the sale of a PG-13 movie that contains profanity…
U.S. Baptists support Zimbabwe seminary
By Bob Allen Two U.S. Baptist groups that formerly sponsored a Baptist seminary in Zimbabwe have switched loyalty to a new school started since the 2011 firing of a principal who opposed changes in governing documents that included required adherence…
U.S. military emblems removed from Bibles
By Bob Allen A group that monitors religious freedom violations in the armed forces claimed victory June 11 after the Pentagon announced that LifeWay Christian Resources can no longer use official emblems of the four military branches on Bibles sold…
Military emblems removed from Bibles
By Bob Allen A group that monitors religious freedom violations in the armed forces claimed victory June 11 after the Pentagon announced that LifeWay Christian Resources can no longer use official emblems of the four military branches on Bibles sold…
SBC membership drops below 16 million
By Bob Allen Membership in the Southern Baptist Convention declined for the fifth straight year in 2011, falling under 16 million for the first time since 2000, according to annual statistics released June 12 by LifeWay Christian Resources. The 2011…