The Mississippi Senate has passed what critics call the most sweeping anti-LGBT legislation in the United States, sponsored by a Baptist layman who is a trustee at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. House Speaker Philip Gunn, R-Clinton, a member and former…
Ky. governor-elect has friends in SBC
By Bob Allen Kentucky’s new Tea Party-backed governor has strong ties to Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. Matt Bevin, a political outsider who captured 52.5 percent of the Nov. 3 vote to 43.8 percent for Democratic Attorney General…
Homosexuality conference greeted by protestors
By Bob Allen Planners of a conference for Christian counselors about homosexuality distanced themselves from the controversial “reparative” or “conversion” therapy aimed at changing a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity, but not because they believe an individual struggling with…
Mohler won’t remove slaveholder names from seminary buildings
By Bob Allen The president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s oldest seminary says he agrees with the denomination’s ethicist that it’s time to take down the Confederate flag, but he has no plans to remove the names of slaveholders from…
Conference affirms sufficiency of Scripture for counseling
By Bob Allen Many Christians who affirm the inerrancy and authority of the Bible don’t think it is sufficient to handle problems in their life, according to speakers at a recent conference on biblical counseling at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary…
Al Mohler decries “Gungor” controversy
By Alan Bean Al Mohler has adapted nicely to our twenty-first century media revolution. He even doespodcasts. Al isn’t hip. Not even a little bit. But he talks about hip people, albeit with disapproval. I can’t imagine the venerable Roy…
Recovering the “new evangelism”
Fifty years ago, in May 1964, a diverse group of Baptists from across North America gathered in Atlantic City to celebrate the culmination of a five-year evangelism campaign (1959-1964). With the participation of American Baptists, African-American Baptists, Canadian Baptists and…
State CBF leader terms Senate debate organized by Southern Baptists partisan
By Bob Allen The interim head of a state Cooperative Baptist Fellowship accused three evangelical leaders of partisan politics for sponsoring candidate forums in a closely watched U.S. Senate race in Kentucky. Chris Sanders, named this month as interim coordinator…
What will ex-Southern Baptists be when they grow up?
By David Gushee Follow David on twitter: @dpgushee It has been 35 years since the Southern Baptist Convention “conservative resurgence/fundamentalist takeover” began in earnest, 27 years since the Alliance of Baptists was formed by frustrated Baptist progressives, and 23 years since the…