In an open letter, a group of survivors and advocates say that comments by SBC President Willy Rice and Texas pastor Jack Graham make it harder to address the issue of abuse in churches.
This issue of A Public Witness documents several outlandish events beyond those named in a recent church-state lawsuit by employees or a complaint from the Freedom From Religion Foundation.
'He told me that Matthew 25 was about individuals, and not nations,' Sen. Raphael Warnock said, referring to Speaker Mike Johnson. 'The text actually says nations.' Warnock added: “It's a very narrow individualistic faith, and I think it has consequences for the kind of policy
‘We're a connector and a catalyzer, and not a denomination,’ its spokesperson said in an interview.
Southern Baptists have long believed that only men can be pastors. But for decades, the denomination took no action to expel churches where women pastors served. Then, in the middle of an abuse controversy, it became a denominational crisis.
The proposed ban on churches with women pastors or those that allow women to preach was approved by three-quarters of church messengers gathered in Orlando.
Rice’s win is a triumph for critics who argue that the nation’s largest Protestant denomination has lost its way in recent years.
Editor-in-Chief Brian Kaylor unpacks a significant problem with a proposed resolution for consideration at the 2026 annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention.
Even as the convention's membership shrinks, the annual meeting in Orlando serves as a bellwether for religious and political trends among evangelicals.
The desire for a sustainable authoritarianism among MAGA Calvinists, such as the ‘Theobros’ and a coalition of Southern Baptist Reformed leaders, has lovers of democracy sounding the alarm.