CBF General Assembly 2023: A View From the Crowd
Contributing writer Laura Levens reflects on the recent denominational meeting of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and how the energy of people in attendance felt different than in previous years.
Many African American SBC Churches Have Women Pastors on Staff. Will They Be Expelled Next?
A letter from the president of the SBC's National African American Fellowship expressed concerns over recent SBC decisions to bar churches with women pastors.
CBF World Makes Its Path Clear
Ethicist, pastor, author, and advocate David P. Gushee reflects on the recent Cooperative Baptist Fellowship General Assembly and what makes the denomination distinct from the Southern Baptist Convention.
A New Home in the American Baptist Church
Rev. Joy Martinez-Marshall reflects on both the heartbreaks and triumphs she encountered on the winding road to finding a new denominational family.
UCC Elects First Woman — and First Woman of African Descent — To Lead Denomination
That Thompson is the first woman to lead the denomination may be surprising given the denomination’s progressive stances on women’s rights and many other issues.
Blessing in a Schism
This issue of A Public Witness attends multiple disaffiliation blessings — from Southern Baptist to United Methodist and Mennonite — to consider different models for denominational partings.
Vatican Confirms Synod Topics Will Address Questions of LGBTQ+ and Women Deacons
The document addresses inclusivity toward LGBTQ+ faithful, the issue of female ordination, and welcoming toward divorced, remarried, or polygamous couples.
SBC Saved From … Hearing a Woman Preach God’s Love
This issue of A Public Witness adds historical context to the contentious meeting of the largest Protestant denomination in the U.S. to consider what the debate about women in ministry means for that body and the broader Christian witness.
Southern Baptists Refuse To Take Back Megachurch Because It Has Women Pastors
Saddleback had been the denomination’s second-largest congregation and until recently was widely touted as a success story amid larger Southern Baptist membership declines.
Before Advocating for Women in Ministry, Rick Warren Split With SBC Over Global Fellowship
Rick Warren has been mounting a public campaign as he urges Southern Baptists to not kick out churches for ordaining women ministers. While his advocacy sparked recent profiles, that coverage leaves out an earlier time when Warren publicly broke with the SBC over its attempt