A Jan. 6 Commission for the Church?
We may not have subpoena power or ornate hearing rooms in Washington, D.C., but in this edition of A Public Witness we explore the evil spirit animating Jan. 6 that abides in too many churches and revealed itself at the U.S. Capitol. This is a demon that needs to be exorcised.
Leaked Russell Moore Letter Blasts SBC Fundamentalists, Sheds Light on His Resignation
In a letter written more than a year before his resignation, Moore explained his troubles with the SBC leadership in bitterly frank terms. Then-President Donald Trump barely makes an appearance.
Patterson Disputes Seminary’s Allegations, Acknowledges Conservative Network Role
Former Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary President Paige Patterson is disputing allegations made by the seminary in the 2021 SBC Book of Reports that documents and other items belonging to the seminary were “improperly removed” from the campus after his firing in 2018.
Tulsa Pastors Honor ‘Holy Ground’ 100 Years After Massacre
On Sunday, First Baptist Church of North Tulsa’s current sanctuary throbbed with a high-decibel service as six congregations gathered to mark the centennial of the Tulsa Race Massacre and to honor the persistence of the Black church tradition in Greenwood.
Preaching at FBC Dallas, Patterson Denounces “Lynch Mob” Trying to Get Him
Just two days after Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, accused former President Paige Patterson of theft, Patterson preached at First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, a Southern Baptist megachurch led by Robert Jeffress. Patterson claimed a “lynch mob” was trying to get him.
Southwestern Accuses Pattersons of Theft, Improper Donor Solicitation
Three years after trustees at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary fired Paige Patterson as president, the school alleges Patterson and his wife Dorothy took items from the SWBTS and improperly contacted SWBTS donors to shift funding to the Pattersons’ personal nonprofit.
Kentucky Work with Baptist Kids Agency at Risk over Gay Rights
A cultural clash pitting religious beliefs against gay rights has jeopardized Kentucky’s long-running relationship with a foster care and adoption agency affiliated with the Baptist church that serves some of the state’s most vulnerable children.
White Evangelicals Watch Fox News, But Hindus & Muslims Really Like CNN
Ryan Burge explored the relationship between different faiths and the TV news they watch. Some very interesting patterns emerged across religious traditions – and the nonreligious – and the type of media being consumed.
Is it Safe to Sing at Church Yet? Depends Who You Ask.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s newest guidance about masks was about individuals; its advice for “communities of faith” has not been updated since Feb. 19 and currently does not mention singing.
100 Years Later, Black Church Leaders Seek Reparations for Tulsa Massacre
As Tulsa pauses to mark the somber centenary of the Tulsa massacre in its Greenwood district, where Black Wall Street was located, Black people of faith are among those saying the time has come to repay as well as to remember.