At the #CaringWell conference last week, Rachael Denhollander recommended that Southern Baptists read Christa Brown’s book, This Little Light: Beyond a Baptist Preacher Predator and His Gang.[i] I read the book after receiving a copy at the For Such a Time as This rally at the SBC Annual Meeting in Birmingham at the recommendation of […]
Caring Well Conference – Day 3 Recap
I found it difficult to complete my recap series and summarize day three’s morning session—First, because the talks were so rich and full of compelling content that it’s difficult to condense into a concise summary and, second, because even 48hrs later, I remain physically, spiritually, and emotionally exhausted. This conference was one of the most […]
Caring Well Conference – Day 2 Recap
Much of day 2 was taken up with breakout sessions, 4 in total out of 12 options. I won’t take time here to cover those because I could not attend them all and they are not easy to summarize. Note, however, that the sessions were recorded and I believe will be available online in the […]
Caring Well Conference – Day 1 Recap
Well day one of the Caring Well Conference is done and I’m gearing up for a very FULL day today. Here is a recap with a few comments from day 1: Phillip Bethancourt opens the conference noting that the speakers have been given the freedom to speak whatever they would like without censorship. He […]
#CaringWell: An Opportunity for the SBC and My Local Church
In a few hours, the ERLC’s much anticipated National Conference “Caring Well: Equipping Churches to Confront the Abuse Crisis” will begin. I am thankful for the ERLC choosing this timely subject for their conference this year – enough so that I am attending my first one and have brought a small group from my church […]
Before the Conference – Acknowledging Problems Surrounding #CaringWell
Tomorrow, more 1,600 Southern Baptists will gather in Dallas Texas for the ERLC’s “Caring Well” Conference. I’m looking forward to the conference and am bringing a small group from my church while others will be watching from home. Personally, I’ve considered myself an advocate for survivors of the trauma of abuse for years and I’ve […]
EC Report — Recommendations relevant to Sexual Abuse and Racism Issues
The following are recommendations of the executive committee to be considered by the Convention: The Executive Committee report will be one of the opportunities the Convention will have to act on the issues surrounding sexual abuse, as well as ethnic discrimination. Here is a quick summary of the relevant recommendations. The first EC report […]
The Sexual Abuse Issue at the SBC Annual Meeting – Six Bad Reasons Not to Act
It’s no secret that one of the major issues we’ll be facing today and tomorrow as we convene our annual meeting is sexual abuse and how we will respond to it as a Convention. President Greear indicated last night during the ERLC panel discussion on sexual abuse that we would have numerous opportunities during our […]
The SBC Annual Meeting – Putting it in perspective
As I type this, my wife is driving and we’re headed to Alabama from our home in Northern Indiana. It’s an annual ritual that I explained to some of my church friends is a combination of a business meeting, worship gathering, family reunion, and trade show. I’ve been attending the SBC Annual […]
Reflections on Counting the Cost of Pursuing Unity (with Editor’s Statement)
Editor’s Statement: Todd and I (Dave) consulted on the construction of this post and I was the one who personally verified the information about the conversation that took place that caused all of the controversy. We would like to clarify that the purpose of this post was to ask the question as to how […]
Adam Greenway to lead Southwestern Seminary
Reports came out this morning that Billy Graham School Dean, Adam Greenway, will be nominated to serve as the next president of Southwestern Seminary to be elected at a special meeting of the SWBTS board, Feb 26-27. You can read the press release here. I affirm the work of the search committee and I believe […]
“Abuse of Faith” – A report on Sexual Abuse in SBC churches: How should we Baptists (and we Christians) respond to this report?
Update: Since the posting of this blog on Saturday, the Houston Chronicle report has now been released. You may access the article here. ______ Tomorrow, an investigative article will be released in the Houston Chronicle that will tell the story of hundreds of persons who have been sexually abused in SBC churches. Even before I […]