Telling the Story of Tennessee Baptists Since 1835
September 28, 2021
By Chris Turner and Lonnie Wilkey NASHVILLE — Former Ethics and Religious Liberties Commission President Russell Moore and then-ERLC board chair David Prince committed a “blatant deception” by consciously concealing from ERLC trustees information that was eventually leaked to the press ahead of the 2021 annual Southern Baptist Convention meeting and that was intended to […]
September 23, 2021
By Diana Chandler Baptist Press CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — The average age of most members of protestant faith groups is graying, a Harvard University’s broad Cooperative Election Study (CES) reveals. The average Southern Baptist adult was 55.2 years old in 2020, ranking the faith group the 13th oldest among 45 studied in the nation. Southern Baptists ranked […]
September 23, 2021
Editor’s note: This story will be updated as new information becomes available. By Scott Barkley Baptist Press NASHVILLE — A marathon afternoon session that stretched past three hours Tuesday (Sept. 21) ended with Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee members approving a motion to fund a contractual agreement with Guidepost Solutions for investigating claims of mishandling […]
September 23, 2021
By Scott Barkley Baptist Press NASHVILLE — A collective of SBC Executive Committee members have released a statement in response to Tuesday’s (Sept. 21) approval of a motion that, while funding a task force-approved investigation into allegations of the mishandling of sexual abuse claims, stopped short of waiving attorney-client privilege. SBC EC member Jared Wellman, who […]
September 22, 2021
By Diana Chandler Baptist Press NASHVILLE — Record-level financial giving to Southern Baptist Convention missions offerings, confession-based seminaries grounded in biblical authority, fulfilling the Great Commission and appreciation for the Cooperative Program highlighted entity reports at the SBC Executive Committee meeting Sept. 20-21 in Nashville. Ethics and Religious Commission ERLC Acting President Brent Leatherwood presented […]
September 20, 2021
The Baptist Paper BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Of the 61 men who have served as president of the Southern Baptist Convention since its founding in 1845, 41 were senior pastors. That includes current SBC president Ed Litton, pastor of Redemption Church in Saraland, Ala. (formerly First Baptist Church, North Mobile). The role comes with a travel […]
September 15, 2021
By Mary Jane Welch Writer, International Mission Board Helen Jean Parks, former missionary and wife of R. Keith Parks, former president of the Foreign (now International) Mission Board, died Sept. 13. She was 93. The former Helen Jean Bond, born in Abilene, Texas, and her husband were appointed Southern Baptist missionaries to Indonesia in 1954 […]
September 14, 2021
By Brandon Parker Baptist Press NASHVILLE — A number of Southern Baptist leaders are taking a cautious approach to President Joe Biden’s announcement that businesses with 100 or more employees will soon be required to have all employees be vaccinated or tested weekly. Biden said he is aiming at getting 100 million more people vaccinated, […]
September 13, 2021
By Aaron Earls Baptist Press ROCK HILL, S.C. — The pandemic forced churches across the country to make significant changes, but none were quite like the one at Stony Fork Community Church, formerly known as Outbreak Church. After enduring the impact of COVID-19 like most every other congregation, pastor Scott Carroll, along with the elders […]
September 13, 2021
By Brandon Porter and Jonathan Howe Baptist Press ASHEVILLE, N.C. — A task force appointed by Southern Baptist Convention President Ed Litton has selected Guidepost Solutions to oversee a third-party review of the SBC Executive Committee’s past handling of sexual abuse issues. According to a statement released by the task force, Guidepost Solutions was selected […]
September 9, 2021
By Gary D. Myers NEW ORLEANS – New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and Leavell College president Jamie Dew announced the reopening of the schools’ campus Sept. 7 following Hurricane Ida. The campus has been closed to residents since the Aug. 29 storm knocked out electricity throughout the region. Campus power was fully restored late in […]
September 9, 2021
By Julie McGowan IMB associate vice president of communications and public relations RICHMOND, Va.—Desiring to help its team members maintain access to unreached peoples and places and remain healthy as they seek to take the gospel to all nations, the International Mission Board announced a policy Sept. 8 for field personnel and staff members related […]