We Didn’t Start the Fire
Even though this piece for A Public Witness starts as a story about one college, it deals with something many churches, schools, and organizations need to consider: taking steps to address their history.
Ahead of Accrediting Body Review, SBU’s Governance Documents Still Clash
Seventeen months after Southwest Baptist University found its accreditation on probation, the school is trying to convince the Higher Learning Commission that the problems have been fixed. But as the HLC conducts a review on Monday, a key problem remains unresolved.
HLGU’s Accreditation Placed on Two-Year Probation
For the second time in as many years, a university affiliated with the Missouri Baptist Convention has seen its accreditation placed on a two-year probation amid controversy about mismanagement and poor trustee governance.
Longest-Serving SBC Officer to Leave Post
Since 1997, 13 men have served as president of the Southern Baptist Convention. But during that time, only one person has held another important position for the nation’s largest Protestant denomination: Recording Secretary John Yeats. However, that will change in June.
SBU Partners with Formerly-Oppositional Church for Controversial Conference
The path that led to Southwest Baptist University’s accreditation woes in many ways started just across the street. Yet, this weekend the school in Bolivar, Missouri, will partner with that neighboring church — Southern Hills Baptist Church — for a conference already sparking controversy and
When Christian Colleges Fail the Test
In this issue of A Public Witness, we take you on a college tour to Southwest Baptist University and several other Christian schools embroiled in governance conflicts this year. Then we offer some lessons on why these issues matter to Christian communities.
SBU Placed on Probation by Accrediting Body
The accrediting body for Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Missouri, placed the school’s accreditation status on “probation on Thursday. The move comes after an investigation into actions by SBU and the Missouri Baptist Convention during a three-year conflict at the school over power and theology.
Unsettled SBU Governing Documents a Topic at MBC Meeting
Months after trustees for Southwest Baptist University in Bolivar, Missouri, dropped their proposed new governing articles, updates at the Missouri Baptist Convention’s 2021 annual meeting left the ongoing issues in limbo.
Motion to Call for Missouri Baptist Sexual Abuse Task Force
As a national task force investigates how the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee dealt with allegations of clergy sexual abuse, a motion coming this week at the Missouri Baptist Convention’s annual meeting will propose a similar task force for Southern Baptists in the Show-Me State.
A Zacchaeus Moment for Southwest Baptist
Now that the trustees at Southwest Baptist University dropped their push for new governing documents, Brian Kaylor offers six next steps that leaders of the school and the Missouri Baptist Convention should take.