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 to expect at this week’s Southern Baptist Executive Committee meeting

Nashville, Tennessee, US RNS After four months of relative peace and quiet, the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee will meet this week, their first in-person gathering since a series of contentious meetings led to the resignation of more than a dozen committee members. The Nashville-based Executive Committee, which oversees the business of the nation’s largest […]
In the US, Tennessee pastor, first African American, named to key SBC post

Nashville, Tennessee, US AP Tennessee pastor Willie McLaurin has been named interim president and CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee, becoming the first African American to lead one of the denomination’s ministry entities in its more than 175-year history. McLaurin’s appointment as one of the top administrators for the largest Protestant church body […]
“At a crossroads”: Southern Baptist Convention faces leadership drain amid ongoing challenges

Following news of the resignation of Ronnie Floyd, president of its executive committee last week, BOB SMIETANA, of Religion News Service, looks at the recent turmoil among leadership in the Southern Baptist Convention…
Southern Baptist leader resigns amid abuse review division

Nashville, Tennessee, US AP A top Southern Baptist Convention administrator is resigning after weeks of internal division over how best to handle an investigation into the denomination’s response to sexual abuse reports. Ronnie Floyd, president and CEO of the SBC’s executive committee, announced his departure Thursday in a statement critical of recent decisions related to […]
Southern Baptists quash expanded sex abuse probe, for now

Nashville, Tennessee, US AP The Southern Baptist Convention’s executive committee on Monday quashed a push for an independent committee to lead a probe of its handling of sex abuse cases, but the proposal is almost certain to resurface when the nation’s largest denomination holds its biggest and most contentious annual meeting in decades. The push […]
Southern Baptist executive committee hires Guidepost Solutions to review Moore allegations

RNS Responding to allegations that it has mishandled allegations of abuse in the past, the Southern Baptist Convention’s executive committee announced Friday that it had retained a firm to “conduct an independent review of its processes,” according to a statement from Ronnie Floyd, president of the executive committee. The review by Guidepost Solutions comes in […]
Secret recordings show Southern Baptist dispute on sex abuse

Nashville, Tennessee, US AP Releases of leaked letters and secret recordings from within the Southern Baptist Convention intensified Thursday as critics sought to show top leaders were slow to address sexual abuse in the nation’s largest Protestant denomination and worried more about its reputation and donations than about victims. A former executive of the denomination’s […]
Southern Baptists: Russell Moore leaves leadership, but denomination’s troubles remain

BOB SMIETANA, of Religion News Service, looks at the issues facing the largest Protestant denomination in the US…
Southern Baptist leaders decry “stone cold racist” letter to Dwight McKissic

RNS Southern Baptist Convention officials have strongly condemned a letter sent by a critic of the SBC to Rev Dwight McKissic, a Black pastor in Texas who recently announced he was pulling his church out of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention. The 25th January letter came from John V Rutledge of Colorado Springs, Colorado, who […]