On June 7th, Paul Pressler died (archive). For many decades, he’d functioned as the Kingmaker of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). But he died in near-obscurity. Nobody quite seemed sure of what to do about his so-called legacy: the Conservative Resurgence of the SBC that turned it forevermore ultraconservative. You Read more
Paul Pressler, possibly the most influential evangelical in modern times, recently died. As evangelicals are wont to do when their leaders die, they are already hard at work analyzing his legacy. Well, sort of. One official Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) site seems eager to forget he ever existed. But they Read more
The 2024 Annual Meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), or #SBC24, just ended. Its attendees, called messengers, had a full plate this year: drilling down harder on the red herring of fetal personhood, condemning churches that dare to hire women as pastors, and generally posturing at each other about Read more
Evangelicals like to pretend that evangelism is just a formality they perform. They think their god strong-arms people into belief, merely utilizing the evangelist as a conduit. But nothing could be further from the truth, as one denomination reveals in a lengthy writeup. Southern Baptists talk a big game about Read more
Because I’ve been following the SBC’s doings for years, I can spot places where things don’t line up at all. And this year, something is definitely not lining up.
As Christians have known for many centuries, it’s a lot easier to fake miracles than it is to fulfill Jesus’ grandest hope for his followers!
As we saw last time we met up, the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is still in decline. As they ramp up to their big Annual Meeting this June, let’s check out hardliners’ suggestions about saving it! (SBC Lingo: A messenger is a participating member church’s representative, sent to the meeting. Read more
Every year, the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) holds elections for several important offices. Perhaps the highest-profile of these is that of the denomination’s president. As we close in on their 2024 Annual Meeting, five SBC leaders have tossed their hats into the Thunderdome to fight for that role. Five (or Read more
The Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) just released a new study about religious changes in America. They also gathered information about how respondents grew up and their support for Christian nationalism. It’s a real bombshell, and it’s got evangelicals coping and seething. Today, let’s cover this study’s main points—and see Read more
Evangelicals have been flailing for years to bump up their evangelism numbers. Really, they’ve done everything except be worthwhile groups to join! And now, they’ve got a wild new hope—a new study showing that a good number of Americans are sad about religion being on the decline in our country. Read more