The Southern Baptist Convention, meeting in Orlando, Florida, this week, moved forward on banning churches with women pastors and elected a right-wing president concerned the denomination has become too woke and liberal.
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(ANALYSIS) I’ve said offhand a few times that PR people are not my favorite folks on Earth and there’s a reason for that. Their job and my job are not the same job. Actually, many times they are diametrically opposed to each other. Folks who work in public relations want to cast their organization in the best light possible. I want to try and get to the unvarnished truth about what’s actually going on behind the headline numbers.
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(ANALYSIS) The Orange County Convention Center in Orlando will be buzzing when 20,000 Southern Baptists gather for their annual national meeting, rushing between forums, worship, reunions, business sessions and politicking about their elections and resolutions.
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(ANALYSIS) Across American history, many colleges have attenuated or dropped their original religious purposes. Harvard University stripped down its 17th-century Latin motto, “Veritas Christo et Ecclesiae” (Truth for Christ and the Church) to simply “Veritas.” However, Baylor still proclaims “integrating academic excellence and Christian commitment” as its core mission.
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Lifeway Christian Resources trustees elected Ryan Blackwell as the organization’s 11th president and CEO during a special-called meeting on Wednesday in Nashville.
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(ANALYSIS) Former Irish President Mary McAleese argues that infant baptism violates children’s human rights by imposing church membership without consent. Critics respond that parents possess religious freedom in child-rearing, note historical and biblical defenses of infant baptism, and compare similar birth rituals across Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism.
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Perhaps not surprisingly, in a Bible Belt state such as Oklahoma, religion came up even in prison reporting — from Catholic bishops making appeals at clemency hearings to Allen, the inmate whose death I witnessed, declaring in her final statement, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
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Morris H. Chapman, former pastor, former Southern Baptist Convention president, former SBC Executive Committee president and champion of the Cooperative Program, died on Monday at age 84.
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George Schroeder loves college football. He just loves Jesus more. After over a quarter-century as a sportswriter, Schroeder found a new calling in ministry.
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At its annual meeting in the Dallas, the nation’s largest Protestant nomination tackled social issues such as same-sex marriage, online porn and sports betting.
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Southern Baptist Convention President Clint Pressley spoke with reporters about unity, transparency and Gospel mission during a press conference held minutes following the SBC Annual Meeting.
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(ANALYSIS) If the saga of SWBTS does indeed have a happy ending, or at least a thriving next chapter, a good bit of the credit can be attributed to one man: Dr. David Dockery.
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(OPINION) I want to remind us of what is good about being a Southern Baptist. That’s why I’ve chosen Hebrews chapter 10, verses 23 and 24, to be the theme verses for this year. And the theme statement will be “Hold fast."
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(ANALYSIS) It’s hard to get a read on where the SBC is headed, honestly. Some events would lead one to believe that they are headed in a very conservative direction (like the IVF resolution), while others tend to point to a denomination that is conservative, but not fundamentalist. But make no mistake — the data says that the average Southern Baptist is further to the right today than the average Southern Baptist from 30 or 40 years ago.
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(ANALYSIS) The annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention was as newsworthy as usual, but unusually significant. The Tennessean depicted the deliberations as “a turning point for the nation’s largest Protestant denomination.” If so, will this turning turn out to be Southern Baptists’ migration toward neo-fundamentalism, a growing force within America’s complex evangelical movement?
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The Southern Baptist Convention conducted its annual meeting in Indianapolis this week. The denomination’s sex abuse scandal — while perhaps overshadowed by a vote on women pastors and a resolution opposing in vitro fertilization — remained a key topic of discussion.
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Southern Baptists, voting at their annual meeting, winnowed their list of candidates for convention president Tuesday evening from six to three. The candidates in the run-off election are Clint Pressley, senior pastor, Hickory Grove Baptist Church, Charlotte, NC; David Allen, professor and dean at Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary, Cordova, Tenn.; and Dan Spencer, senior pastor of First Baptist Church, Sevierville, Tenn.
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Increasing financial transparency, combatting sexual abuse and electing a new slate of officers were among highlights of the SBC Executive Committee’s meeting June 10 at the Indianapolis Downtown Marriott.
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This week’s Weekend Plug-in delves into reports the U.S. Justice Department has ended its investigation of Southern Baptist sex abuse. Plus, as always, catch up on all the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.
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This week’s Weekend Plug-in highlights Donald Trump’s remarks to the National Religious Broadcasters’ convention in Nashville, Tenn. Plus, as always, catch up on all the best reads and top headlines in the world of faith.
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