Southern Baptists pick a California seminary president to lead its troubled administrative body
United States AP A top Southern Baptist administrative body has selected its first permanent leader in nearly two-and-a-half years, a time when it has navigated a tumult of controversies ranging from a sexual abuse scandal to financial struggles – to its own stumbling efforts to find a new president. Jeff Iorg, the longtime president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s […]
What is happening with the SBC and the Department of Justice?
United States RNS Last week, lawyers for the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee say they were contacted by the US Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York and were told an investigation into the committee’s handling of sexual abuse had been closed. News about the status of the investigation eventually leaked, and on […]
US Department of Justice closes investigation into SBC’s handling of abuse
United States RNS Federal officials have concluded an investigation into sexual abuse in the nation’s largest Protestant denomination, with no charges being filed. News that the investigation was closed was first reported by The Tennessean newspaper in Nashville. The first day of the Southern Baptist Convention annual meeting at the Ernest N Morial Convention Center […]
Heads of SBC mission boards say they will not fund new abuse reform non-profit
Nashville, Tennessee, US RNS Leaders of two major Southern Baptist mission boards said they will not help fund a proposed independent non-profit meant to implement the denomination’s abuse reforms. Plans for the non-profit were announced on Monday night during a meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee. The headquarters of the Southern Baptist Convention is seen […]
Southern Baptist leaders expel two churches for allegedly mismanaging abuse
United States RNS Trustees of the Southern Baptist Convention voted to cut ties with four churches on Tuesday, two for alleged mismanagement of sexual abuse. One other had failed to give to the SBC’s common fund, while another hired a woman pastor. All four were designated as “being out of friendly cooperation” with the nation’s […]
Latest candidate to head Southern Baptists’ Executive Committee withdraws
United States RNS The Southern Baptist Convention, the nation’s largest Protestant denomination, has failed again in its search for a new leader for its Executive Committee, which handles the denomination’s business between annual meetings. The committee announced on Tuesday that the leading candidate for the president and CEO of the Executive Committee has withdrawn. He is the […]
In the US, chaos erupts over SBC legal filing in Louisville abuse lawsuit
United StatesRNS Abuse survivors, along with some members of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee and the SBC’s abuse reform taskforce, have denounced a Kentucky court filing by Southern Baptist entities aimed at limiting their liability for sexual abuse claims. A brief filed earlier this year by lawyers for the Executive Committee, Southern Baptist Theological […]
In the US, SBC leader Willie McLaurin resigns after admitting he falsified resume
United States RNS Willie McLaurin, the acting president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee, resigned suddenly on Thursday after admitting he had falsified his resume. “While considering McLaurin as a candidate for Floyd’s permanent replacement, the SBC Executive Committee’s Presidential Search Team discovered disqualifying information during their process of vetting and due diligence,” said […]
Women in leadership: In a last-ditch effort, longtime Southern Baptist churches expelled for women pastors fight to stay
PETER SMITH, of Associated Press, reports ahead of this week’s annual gathering of the Southern Baptist Convention…
Rick Warren campaigns for Southern Baptist reinstatement of Saddleback Church
United StatesRNS Days before the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting, former megachurch pastor Rick Warren has appealed to his fellow Southern Baptists to overturn a denominational decision to oust his Saddleback Church because it permits women to serve with the title pastor. “This should be the moment where 47,000+ autonomous, independent, freedom-loving churches say NO […]