Theological education has been my life’s work, and it has been a joyful and traumatic pursuit at three schools: Southern Seminary, Central Seminary, and now United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities. I would consider myself blessed to have labored…
Behind the numbers: How Southwestern Seminary’s enrollment came to be the lowest it has been since World War II
When news broke last month about the sudden resignation of Adam Greenway as president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, many Southern Baptist Convention observers and alumni of the Fort Worth, Texas, seminary were surprised to learn how small the school…
Carver School of Social Work was a victim of American fundamentalism, authors explain
Diana Garland’s 1995 firing as social work dean at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary had less to do with her public conflicts with the Kentucky seminary’s leadership than with the surge of fundamentalism in the SBC and American evangelicalism, according to…
Historic Kentucky church calls gay man as co-pastor
A historic Baptist congregation in Kentucky called a gay man as co-pastor Aug. 14. Jordan Conley will join Andrea Woolley as co-pastor of Crescent Hill Baptist Church in Louisville as Jason Crosby leaves the church staff for a position at…
E.Y. Mullins, the piano mouse, the Cowardly Lion, and the monkey trial
In July 2025 we will mark the 100th anniversary of the Scopes trial regarding the teaching of evolution in Tennessee. The trial represents a key moment in the debate between modernists and fundamentalists. Like all history, the story offers insights…
Hannah Kate Williams refiles sexual abuse lawsuit against SBC entities
A large-scale lawsuit against the Southern Baptist Convention alleging a coverup of sexual abuse has been refiled by a new set of attorneys for Hannah Kate Williams. An earlier version of the same charges had been filed in a Kentucky…
Molly Marshall named president of United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities
After 10 months as interim president of United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities, Baptist scholar Molly Marshall has been named president of the St. Paul, Minn., school. United Theological Seminary is a United Church of Christ institution founded in…
Princeton Seminary removes name of slaveholding founder from its chapel
Princeton Theological Seminary announced Jan. 25 that it has changed the name on its campus chapel to avoid further association with a slaveholding professor. Samuel Miller was the second professor hired at the Presbyterian seminary. Born in 1769, he was…
Raymond Bailey was my mentor
Two days after Raymond Bailey’s death on the First Sunday of Advent, I talked about him at my church staff meeting. I told the staff how Raymond taught me to preach, showed me how to be a minister and pushed…