Establishing a database of those credibly accused of sexual abuse in Southern Baptist churches is important. Just as much is making sure it’s done right. Oklahoma pastor Mike Keahbone of the Abuse Reform Implementation Task Force pointed that out to Executive Committee members on Monday evening, Sept. 18. “We do not have a projected date […]
Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee members were hit with another disappointment during the final plenary session of their fall meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 19. EC Chairman and Louisiana pastor Philip Robertson announced that Dan Summerlin, the recently retired Kentucky pastor who had been announced the day before as a candidate for the role of transitional […]
The SBC Executive Committee made staff adjustments on Sept. 13 that eliminated five staff positions and two contractor positions, according to a statement. “Over the past few weeks, our current leadership and officers met at length to determine various ways to most effectively steward the resources provided to us by Southern Baptist churches,” said Jonathan […]
Louisiana pastor and SBC First Vice President Jay Adkins will chair a task force that will study the impact of recommendations brought about by the Great Commission Resurgence Report and adopted by Southern Baptists in 2010. The task force was called for in a motion at the 2023 SBC Annual Meeting in New Orleans to […]
Addressing “things we have never done before” in the history of the Southern Baptist Convention will permeate discussions of those who will present a report next June that could reassert or redefine what constitutes a church to be in friendly cooperation with the SBC, said President Bart Barber. “These declarations that churches are not in […]
Northerners have been moving south for centuries. They come seeking a new life and new opportunities. Such was the case with a group of Baptists from Maine more than 300 years ago. Pastor William Screven and some of his congregants, looking to cash in on a strong shipbuilding economy, arrived in Charleston in 1696. As […]
I did a double-take when I read the sign in front of a small white church beside a two-lane blacktop that snaked through the hills of western North Carolina. I stopped and backed up my SUV to get a second look. The weathered 12-by-18 sign read: “Welcome to Trinity Baptist Church. We are an Independent, […]
Particular Baptist churches planted in the tumultuous soil of 17th century England grew up and bore fruit under a nasty set of doctrinal and methodological accusations, including that they subscribed to libertarian free will, denied original sin, that their pastors baptized women in the nude, and were opponents of church and crown. Perhaps their most […]
“Who are you?” the criminal once asked Batman. “Who are you?” the ’70s rock band, the Who, once asked their generation. In one sense, the answer should be obvious. We ought to be able to answer as Popeye did: “I am who I am and that’s all that I am.” But, is it really? Can […]
The SBC Executive Committee has begun an investigation into the circumstances leading to the resignation of Willie McLaurin. McLaurin resigned on Aug. 17 after confessing to falsifying his education background. He was serving as the interim president and CEO and was thought to be the leading candidate for the permanent role. He had served the EC […]