Woke war: How social justice and CRT became heresy for US evangelicals
BOB SMIETANA, of Religion News Service, reports that the political ‘woke war’ has spilled over into US churches in a trend that will likely continue…
New SBC President Ed Litton apologises for using JD Greear sermon quotes without credit
RNS The newly elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention has apologised for giving a sermon where he used material from his predecessor without revealing where it came from. A video posted on YouTube on Thursday showed clips of a January 2020 sermon on the New Testament book of Romans from Litton and clips from a January, […]
Southern Baptists tamp down race controversy, await election
Nashville, Tennessee, USAP Representatives to the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting tamped down a controversy on race and heard an impassioned plea for victims of sexual abuse Tuesday while awaiting results on a bellwether presidential election. Some among the more than 15,000 church representatives in attendance – making it the SBC’s largest yearly gathering in […]
SBC President JD Greear: “God did not call Southern Baptists to save America”
Nashville, Tennessee, USRNS Southern Baptist Convention President JD Greear called out fellow Baptists on Monday who he said were sowing dissension and lies in the nation’s largest Protestant denomination. Greear, who pastors The Summit Church, a North Carolina megachurch, defended his three years as the denomination’s president and the convention’s growing diversity. But he said […]
Southern Baptist leaders meet after critical race theory document caused controversy
RNS Southern Baptist Convention officials admitted it would have been better if they’d contacted Black leaders of their denomination before issuing a statement decrying critical race theory, which led to the departure of several Black pastors. In response to weeks of reaction to the statement and a request for a meeting from the SBC’s National […]
In the US, Liberty University deletes John Piper convocation videos after Trump criticism
RNS Liberty University removed videos of evangelical author and speaker John Piper from its website after the well-known pastor wrote a blog post that was seen as critical of President Donald Trump. According to Christianity Today, Piper and Southern Baptist Convention President JD Greear recorded a video conversation with David Nasser, Liberty’s senior vice president for spiritual development, […]
Protecting abuse survivors is “personal”, says new Southern Baptist leader
RNS In his first meeting as leader of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee, Rev Rolland Slade called on other committee members on Tuesday to be responsible “to shepherd and to protect” survivors of church sex abuse. Slade, senior pastor of Meridian Baptist Church in El Cajon, California, announced that the issue is “personal” for […]
Retire gavel named for slaveholder, Southern Baptist President JD Greear says
RNS For most of their history, Southern Baptists have opened their meetings with a gavel named for a slaveholder. The president of the nation’s largest Protestant denomination now says that gavel should be retired. Southern Baptist Convention President JD Greear brings the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention to order using the 1872 Broadus […]
Southern Baptists: Without annual meeting, amid decline, debates continue on race, women’s roles
ADELLE M BANKS, of Religion News Service, reports on the ongoing debates within the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination in the US…
Accusing Southern Baptist Convention of “caving”, US evangelical pastor John MacArthur speaks against women preachers
RNS US evangelical pastor John MacArthur, speaking at a celebration of his 50th year in pulpit ministry this week, weighed in on an ongoing debate in the Southern Baptist Convention over women preachers, claiming the nation’s largest Protestant denomination has lost faith in authority of the Bible. He claimed the SBC had taken a “headlong plunge” […]