By Bob Allen A seminary professor denounced the marginalization of Calvinists in the Southern Baptist Convention at a breakfast gathering during the recent SBC annual meeting in New Orleans. Speaking at the 2012 Founder’s Breakfast, Tom Nettles, professor of historical…
With ruling, contraceptive debate goes on
By Bob Allen Critics of the Obama administration’s requirement that faith-based employers include mandatory contraceptive coverage in their health-care plans for women voiced disappointment June 28 when the U.S. Supreme Court upheld key portions of the Affordable Health Care Act…
Trial for alleged peeping preacher delayed
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…