On the occasion of Al Mohler’s 30th anniversary as president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, O.S. Hawkins compared Mohler to Moses, King David, Paul and Jesus. “When God chooses to do a work of his sovereign grace, he seems to…
When is a ‘prominent’ memorial not as ‘major’ as advertised?
A “prominent” marker on the campus of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary acknowledging the sins of the institution’s slaveholding founders is smaller than a nearby banner bearing the image of current seminary President Al Mohler, the Louisville Courier-Journal reports. The 20-by-30-inch…
As you watch the new movie Oppenheimer, remember Glen Stassen
It was 1989 and I had taken a class called Just Peacemaking taught by Glenn H. Stassen. For those of you not familiar with Stassen, he was a nuclear physicist turned theologian turned ethics professor at the Southern Baptist Theological…
My ordination is precious to me
When the Southern Baptist Convention voted last week to reaffirm its expulsion of churches with women pastors on staff and to begin the process of amending its constitution to make sure any member congregation “does not affirm, appoint or employ…
Remember that time three women won the preaching award at Southern Seminary?
In a previous essay, I reflected on the harrowing of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary that happened in the shift in administrations from President Roy Honeycutt to President Al Mohler, 30 years ago in 1993. Readers’ comments on that column reported…
The generational pain and hope of the Southern Baptist witch trials
I was born in 1993 in the same month that, just a state away, Al Mohler was being elected to replace Roy Honeycutt as president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Both my parents attended and graduated from Southern in the…
The lion, the witch-hunt and the boardroom: Reflections 30 years after the harrowing of Southern Seminary
In December 1992, I graduated from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. It was the last full year of Roy Honeycutt’s storied career as president of Southern Baptists’ first seminary. It has been 30 years since the transition to…
Sills files suit against SBC and 11 other defendants, claiming his relationship with Lyell was consensual and he became a ‘scapegoat’ in the SBC’s sexual abuse crisis
A former Southern Baptist seminary professor and his wife have filed suit against the Southern Baptist Convention and 11 other defendants claiming defamation of character and conspiracy in the well-publicized sexual abuse case of Jennifer Lyell. The lawsuit challenges what…
Becoming a ‘midwife of grace’ — an interview with Molly Marshall
At age 12, Molly Marshall’s pastor asked if she’d ever considered working with young people as a career option. She thought to herself, “Well of course I haven’t, I am one!” Two years later, at age 14, while at a…