The Southern Baptists are meeting in the US city of Indianapolis. Here’s why it matters.
Indianapolis, US RNS More than 11,000 Southern Baptist Church members, known as messengers, will gather in Indianapolis this week for one of the largest, and sometimes noisiest, religious meetings of the year. The Southern Baptist Convention’s annual gathering is part family reunion, part business meeting and part church service, mixing singing and sermons with business […]
Southern Baptists refuse to take back megachurch because it has women pastors
New Orleans, US AP The Southern Baptist Convention has refused to welcome Saddleback Church back into its fold, rejecting an appeal by the California megachurch over its February ouster for having women pastors. Southern Baptist church representatives at their annual meeting here also rejected a similar appeal by a smaller church, Fern Creek Baptist of Louisville, Kentucky, which is led by […]
In the US, Southern Baptists end first day of annual meeting with key questions hanging
New Orleans, US RNS During the opening day of their annual meeting, Southern Baptists re-elected a president, debated the place of women leaders in the church and spent hours debating using Robert’s Rules of Order. Still, nearly 10 hours after the opening gavel, key issues that brought nearly 13,000 members of the nation’s largest Protestant […]
In the US, Southern Baptists apologise to abuse survivors and urge criminalising pastoral abuse
Anaheim, California, US RNS A day after approving a series of reforms meant to address sexual abuse in their denomination, Southern Baptists at their national meeting approved a resolution on Wednesday apologising to abuse survivors and asking for forgiveness. They also called on US state legislatures to create laws that make pastoral sexual misconduct a […]
In the US, Southern Baptist seminary heads join chorus of critics as leaders balk on abuse probe
RNS Pressure is building on members of the executive committee of the Southern Baptist Convention to allow a third-party firm full access to investigate how it has handled allegations of sexual abuse over the past 20 years. This week, all six Southern Baptist seminaries expressed their dismay at the executive committee’s unwillingness to act. Logos […]
In the US, Patterson won’t address annual meeting as Southern Baptists gather amid scandals
RNS With Southern Baptists already comparing the state of their denomination to a natural disaster, another dramatic turn has come in the sexual abuse and misconduct scandal swirling around Paige Patterson, a revered institutional leader. Patterson, fired recently from his post at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, announced Friday that he won’t […]